Learn French Made Easy
Learn French Made Easy
French pronunciation is tricky because it uses nasal sounds which we do not have in English and there are a lot of silent letters. However, if a word ends in C, R, F or L (except verbs that end in -r) you usually pronounce the final consonant. Their vowels tend to be shorter as well. The French slur most words together in a sentence, so if a word ends in a consonant that is not pronounced and the next word starts with a vowel or silent h, slur the two together as if it were one word.
Two sounds that are tricky to an American English speaker are the differences between the long and short u and e. The long u is pronounced oooh, as in hoot. The short u does not exist in English though. To pronounce is correctly, round your lips as if to whistle, and then say eee. The long and short e are relatively easy to pronounce, but sometimes it is difficult to hear the difference. The long e is pronounced openly, like ay, as in play. The short e is more closed, and pronounced like eh, as in bed.
All nouns in French have a gender, either masculine or feminine. For the most part, you must memorize the gender, but there are some endings of words that will help you decide which gender a noun is. Nouns ending in -age and -ment are usually masculine, as are nouns ending with a consonant. Nouns ending in -ure, -sion, -tion, -ence, -ance, -té, and -ette are usually feminine.
Articles and adjectives must agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify. And articles have to be expressed even though they aren’t always in English; and you may have to repeat the article in some cases. Demonstratives are like strong definite articles.
Learn French with Alain – Lesson 2 – Ordering at a café
