Tools for Building Phrases - Part 3
Tools for Building Phrases - Part 3
Yes or No Questions
“Ici?” (Here?)
The simplest way to ask a yes-or-no question in French is to turn a statement into a question by raising the intonation at the end, much like you would do in English. This rule applies even when asking questions with just one word.
Importance of Liaisons
Because word liaisons are very common in the French language, non-native French speakers often have difficulty in transcribing oral sentences into written words and vice versa. Word liaisons in French have two primary characteristics:
Word liaisons in the French language also have three different categories. These are:
1. Liaisons obligatoires or Required Liaisons – the words that fall under this category are usually linked either by the sense or function of the words. These words can fall under any of the following pairings:
1. Pronoun + verb, example: vous avex /vuzavé/
2. Article + noun
3. Adjective + noun, example: bon ami /bonεmi/
4. Number + noun, example: très occupé /trεzokuhpé/
5. 2 different single-syllable prepositions, example: chezeux /shεzuh/
French language experts believe that Required Liaisons are the easiest to remember for non-native French speakers who are still learning the intricacies of the language.
2. Liaisons interdites or Forbidden Liaisons – this may sound like the title of some cheesy old movie, but it actually refers to letters that cannot be pronounced at all no matter how hard the speaker tries. These letters are often found on the following placements:
1. After mentioning a person’s full name. Example: Thomas est parti /toma-εy-parti/ (rough translation: Thomas left)
2. After the preposition et /εt/ (and). Example: et en /εyén/ some speakers might pronounce a hint of the letter ‘n’ at the end.
3. Before the H aspirate or h-aspiré. Example: en haut/ə nô/ (top)
4. When it is preceeded by interrogative adverbs. Example: Comment est-il /komän-εitil/ (How is it?)
5. When it is preceeded by the toujours /tu ʒ u ʁ /(always or still). Example: toujours ici/ tu ʒ u ʁ isi/(still here).
3. Liaisons facultatives or Optional Liaisons – these liaisons are the words that have evolved through time. These are more difficult for beginners in the French language to completely master because the liaisons often depend on the level of formality between speakers. Some of the instances within which optional liaisons occur include:
1. When the letter is preceeded by a plural noun. Example: femmes arrivent /fεmzariv/
2. When a noun is preceeded by the present tense of the verb être (to be), which is il est /élεs/. Example: il est idiot /élεytidio/ (it is foolish).
3. When an adjective is preceeded by il est. Example: il est heureux /élεyuru/ (he is happy).
It is important to remember that liaisons are different from enchaînement. In liaising, the silent consonants of stand-alone words are given emphasis due to the presence of a vowel that comes after it. In enchaînement, the consonant has always been pronounced even when the word is mentioned all by itself. However, once the word is attached to another word that begins with a vowel, the final consonant is transferred to beginning of the next word so that it would then be pronounced along with the first vowel letter.
Some examples of enchaînement include:
Word Order
Just like in the English language, the basic order of words in a sentence is subject – verb – object. When you are not sure, you can simply use the sentence structure that you would normally use when speaking in English. If you do this, you will be generally understood.
Yes or No Questions
“Ici?” (Here?)
The simplest way to ask a yes-or-no question in French is to turn a statement into a question by raising the intonation at the end, much like you would do in English. This rule applies even when asking questions with just one word.
Importance of Liaisons
Because word liaisons are very common in the French language, non-native French speakers often have difficulty in transcribing oral sentences into written words and vice versa. Word liaisons in French have two primary characteristics:
- The pronunciation of a word starts with the silent consonant of the word that precedes it. The succeeding word normally begins with the letter H or a vowel.
- Liaised consonants are pronounced differently. The most common consonants that experience a change in pronunciation include:
- D – sound changed to /t/
- F – changed to /v/
- S – changed to /z/
- X – changed to /z/
Word liaisons in the French language also have three different categories. These are:
1. Liaisons obligatoires or Required Liaisons – the words that fall under this category are usually linked either by the sense or function of the words. These words can fall under any of the following pairings:
1. Pronoun + verb, example: vous avex /vuzavé/
2. Article + noun
3. Adjective + noun, example: bon ami /bonεmi/
4. Number + noun, example: très occupé /trεzokuhpé/
5. 2 different single-syllable prepositions, example: chezeux /shεzuh/
French language experts believe that Required Liaisons are the easiest to remember for non-native French speakers who are still learning the intricacies of the language.
2. Liaisons interdites or Forbidden Liaisons – this may sound like the title of some cheesy old movie, but it actually refers to letters that cannot be pronounced at all no matter how hard the speaker tries. These letters are often found on the following placements:
1. After mentioning a person’s full name. Example: Thomas est parti /toma-εy-parti/ (rough translation: Thomas left)
2. After the preposition et /εt/ (and). Example: et en /εyén/ some speakers might pronounce a hint of the letter ‘n’ at the end.
3. Before the H aspirate or h-aspiré. Example: en haut/ə nô/ (top)
4. When it is preceeded by interrogative adverbs. Example: Comment est-il /komän-εitil/ (How is it?)
5. When it is preceeded by the toujours /tu ʒ u ʁ /(always or still). Example: toujours ici/ tu ʒ u ʁ isi/(still here).
3. Liaisons facultatives or Optional Liaisons – these liaisons are the words that have evolved through time. These are more difficult for beginners in the French language to completely master because the liaisons often depend on the level of formality between speakers. Some of the instances within which optional liaisons occur include:
1. When the letter is preceeded by a plural noun. Example: femmes arrivent /fεmzariv/
2. When a noun is preceeded by the present tense of the verb être (to be), which is il est /élεs/. Example: il est idiot /élεytidio/ (it is foolish).
3. When an adjective is preceeded by il est. Example: il est heureux /élεyuru/ (he is happy).
It is important to remember that liaisons are different from enchaînement. In liaising, the silent consonants of stand-alone words are given emphasis due to the presence of a vowel that comes after it. In enchaînement, the consonant has always been pronounced even when the word is mentioned all by itself. However, once the word is attached to another word that begins with a vowel, the final consonant is transferred to beginning of the next word so that it would then be pronounced along with the first vowel letter.
Some examples of enchaînement include:
- Avec /ävεk/ (along with). When the word is added to avec, it would then be pronounced as /ävε-kεl/ (roughly translated to ‘with it’).
- Elle /εl/ (it) – this is often used with the preposition est, and the prepositional phrase would then be pronounced as /ε-lé/ (she is).
Word Order
Just like in the English language, the basic order of words in a sentence is subject – verb – object. When you are not sure, you can simply use the sentence structure that you would normally use when speaking in English. If you do this, you will be generally understood.