One of the defining features of spoken French is the liaison. A liaison occurs when a normally silent final consonant is pronounced because the following word begins with a vowel or a silent h (h muet). This linking of sounds helps French pronunciation flow smoothly and is an important aspect of correct pronunciation. READ ALSO: French Grammar Tip: Why does French have so many silent letters? But like many grammar rules, there are some exceptions with not every silent consonant forming a liaison. Some are
required, some are optional, and others are forbidden. And learning these patterns will help you sound more natural. What happens during a liaison? When a liaison is made, the final consonant of the first word becomes the first sound of the next word’s syllable. For example, les amis (friends) is pronounced lay-zah-mee, not lay ah-mee. Likewise, vous avez (you have) becomes voo-zah-vay. The consonant often changes slightly in pronunciation: Final s and x are pronounced as -z: les enfants (lay-zanh-fanh, the kids), deux amis (deu-zamee,
two friends) Final d is pronounced as -t: grand arbre (grahn-tarbr, big tree) Final t is pronounced as -t: quand il vient (kahn-tee-vyan, when he comes) Final n remains -n: un ami (uhn-nah-mee, a friend) Final r remains -r: premier étage (pruh-myay-ray-tazh, first floor) Now this is where it gets tricky. There are different types of liaisons as well that you have to know: required liaisons, optional liaisons and forbidden liaisons. Let’s break it down. Required liaisons A liaison is required between a determiner and
a noun. Example: les enfants (lay-zahn-fahn, the children), un ami (uhn-nah-mee, a friend), mes idées (may-zay-day, my ideas), ces arbres (say-zarbr, these trees) A liaison is also required between a subject pronoun and a verb. Examples: nous avons (noo-zah-von, we have), vous êtes (voo-zett, you are), ils arrivent (eel-zah-reev, they arrive), on écoute (ohn-nay-koot, we’re listening) Liaisons are required between an adjective placed before the noun and the noun itself. Examples: petit enfant (puh-tee-tahn-fahn, small child), grand arbre (grahn-tarbr, big tree), premier étage (pruh-myay-ray-tazh, first
floor) Many fixed expressions also require a liaison. Examples: de temps en temps (duh tahn-zahn tahn, from time to time), États-Unis (ay-tah-zoo-nee, United States), avant-hier (ah-vahn-tee-yair, the day before yesterday), de mieux en mieux (duh myuh-zahn myuh, better and better) Liaisons are generally required between certain prepositions and the following word. Examples: dans un (dahn-zuhn, in a), chez elle (shay-zell, at her house), sans argent (sahn-zar-zhahn, without money), en hiver (ahn-nee-vair, in winter) Optional Liaisons Optional liaisons are most common in formal speech, but in
everyday conversation, they are frequently omitted. A liaison may be made after plural nouns, especially before adjectives or verbs. For example, des étudiants arrivent (day-zay-too-dee-ahn-zah-reev, students arrive) may be pronounced with or without the liaison. Many speakers make optional liaisons after adverbs, particularly très, bien, moins, plus, and trop. Examples include bien organisé (bee-an-nor-gah-nee-zay, well organised) and plus agréable (ploo-zah-gray-ahbl, more pleasant). Optional liaisons also occur after many verb forms, especially when followed by another word beginning with a vowel. Examples include ils sont arrivés
(eel-sohn-tah-ree-vay, they arrived), elle est allée (ell-ay-tah-lay, she went), and ils avaient entendu (eel-zah-vay-tahn-tahn-doo, they had heard). These are more common in careful or formal speech. Forbidden Liaisons Some liaisons should never be pronounced. The conjunction et (and) never forms a liaison. You should say et elle (and her), not é-telle. A liaison is forbidden before an aspirated h (h aspiré). Although the word begins with the letter h, it behaves as though it begins with a consonant. Examples: les haricots (lay ah-ree-koh, the beans),
des héros (day ay-roh, heroes), un hibou (uhn ee-boo, an owl), and les halles (lay all, the market halls) In general, no liaison is made after a singular noun before a following adjective or verb. For example, le garçon arrive (luh gar-sohn ah-reev, the boy arrives) and un étudiant intelligent (uhn ay-too-dee-ahn an-tell-ee-zhahn, an intelligent student) are pronounced without a liaison after garçon or étudiant. Liaisons are also generally avoided after proper names, after inverted punctuation pauses, and whenever a noticeable pause separates the two
words. Silent h vs. aspirated h French has two kinds of words beginning with h. A silent h (h muet) behaves like a vowel, so a liaison is made. Examples: les hommes (lay-zohm, the men), des hôtels (day-zoh-tell, hotels), un habit (uhn-nah-bee, a piece of clothing), and nos histoires (noh-zees-twar, our stories). An aspirated h (h aspiré) blocks both liaison and elision. Examples: (lay ay-roh, the heroes), des haricots (day ah-ree-koh, beans), le hibou (luh ee-boo, the owl), and le hamster (luh ahm-stair, the hamster).
Although no breath is actually pronounced before these words, they are treated as if they begin with a consonant. Because there is no visual difference between the two types of h, they must be learned through vocabulary. Here’s a song by Daniel Balavoine where you can hear a good example of a liaison. Tips for remembering this lesson Learning all of these rules seems like a lot, but listen carefully to native speakers. News broadcasts, audiobooks, and podcasts often contain many examples of both required
and optional liaisons. Practice speaking in complete phrases rather than isolated words. Since liaisons occur between words, they become much easier to master when you learn vocabulary in chunks instead of individually. Read more French grammar tips French grammar tips: When to use ‘réaliser’ vs. ‘se rendre compte
French grammar, liaison, pronouncing liaisons, silent h, h muet, aspirated h, h aspiré, French pronunciation, French listening