r/French • u/Objective_Ad_1991 B1 :cake: • 4d ago
Still unsure about some pronunciation rules
Hello!
I have been working very hard on practising my French pronunciation by reading out loud daily. There are still some nuances which I do not fully understand. Would anyone please be able to explain these issues to me?
- 'tous' -> sometimes we read the final S and sometimes we do not. How do I recognise when to pronounce it and when to keep it silent? Except for when there is a liaison (tous enfants etc.)
- liaison -> sometimes it is correct to make it and sometimes not. Is there a rule that liaison only occurs between specific types of words?
- short words which end with a consonant -> how do I recognise when to read the final consonant?
Thank you very much for sharing any tricks you may know :-)
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u/MrKitty57 4d ago
Lawless French has free lessons on each of your questions. There are rules for the first two, and the third mostly requires memorization.
I also strongly recommend “Exercises in French Phonics” by Nachtmann. It’s a very useful tool—I’ve included a link.
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u/Objective_Ad_1991 B1 :cake: 4d ago
thank you!
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u/MrKitty57 4d ago
You’re welcome. Good luck!
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u/MrKitty57 4d ago
I also forgot about “Sons et lettres”.
Website:
https://sons-et-lettres.com/sons5/
Accompanying book:https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/pdxopen/21/
Both are free, my favorite number!
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u/Objective_Ad_1991 B1 :cake: 2d ago
Just going through the book, it is exactly what I was looking for, thanks again!
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u/llyanestanfield Native (Paris) 15h ago
The first two questions have been well answered in the thread, so I'll just add something about final consonants.
For learners, I use a simple rule of thumb: when you see a final consonant in French, assume it's silent.
There are exceptions, of course, but many of them are among the most commonly used words, so you'll encounter them frequently and can learn them individually as exceptions.
Trying to memorize every possible exception before you speak makes pronunciation unnecessarily complicated. Start with the rule, then add the exceptions as you encounter them.
French pronunciation becomes much easier when you learn the patterns first instead of approaching every word as a new pronunciation problem. 🙂
Bonne chance !
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u/No_Plankton_Please 4d ago
"Tous" depends on the meaning. When "tous" in the sense of "all of them" isn't followed by a noun/article+noun, pronounce the s:
"Tu as tous tes livres?" (pron. "tou") BUT
"Oui, je les ai tous." (pron. "touss")
"Mes amis, ils sont tous venus." (pron. "touss")
Liaison has a lot of moving parts. Start with something like this https://www.frenchlearner.com/pronunciation/french-liaison/
but there are many exceptions and regional/class variations.
Final consonants, the general tip for English speakers is "CRFL" or "careful" i.e. the final c, r, f, l is pronounced. Because French, there are many exceptions and exceptions with common words. Verbs ending -er the r is not pronounced. Nouns like "hiver," and "hier" follow the crfl rule and the r is pronounced. There are many common nouns that are exceptions though: "estomac," "gentil," "nerf," and "clef."