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French Liaison

  A to Z French Grammar Episode 3/1000

In French, a Liaison is when the final consonant of certain words is pronounced and linked with the following word, which begins with a vowel or h mute.

A liaison is when the last letter of one word links to the first letter of another word through a pronunciation change. 

Why do liaisons exist in French?

Over time, languages have evolved to be as easy to speak as possible. We’ve gotten rid of sounds that don’t flow and added in sounds that do.

Happening: 

They happen when a word that normally ends with a silent constant (think: les, mes, tes etc) occurs before certain words that begins with a vowel or a silent “h” sound. 

Les amis

Rules to be followed: 

1- 1. S and X to Z 

In situations where liaisons occur, the “s” or “x” at the end of the first word will turn into a “z” sound. Two examples are les‿ananas and deux‿amis. s+a=Z

Deux‿amis   x+a = z

2. D to T

In other liaisons, the “d” sound changes to “t.” This happens in the sentence “Quand‿est-ce que tu vas au supermarché ?”

3. Silent T to pronounced T

With liaison, the “t” at the end of certain words will be pronounced. This occurs in the sentence il est‿allé. This also happens with the word petit, comment, and tout. 

Est =   il est‿allé.

Comment-allez vous

4. Nasal N and M to pronounced N and M

Nasal “n” and “m” sounds will also change to their “nnn” and “mmm” pronunciations (which are how they’re pronounced in the French Alphabet with liaison. For example, instead of saying “on” like you usually would, in the sentence “on‿a mangé” you’ll pronounce the “n” at the end of “on.”

On a mangé

You’ll also never have liaison:

  • After inversion
  • After et
  • With numbers
  • After names
  • Before h aspiré

Guys there exists so many rules, exception but as this course is starting from beginning, I will keep it simple and after sometime i will start the advance level of videos tutorials for you, but before, let’s keep it simple.

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