Leçon 5
Lesson 5
Sound [i]
| French sound | Similar English sound | French letters and letter combinations | Notes |
vowel [i] |
[i] as in the word hit |
I,i |
The capital letter Î is more often denoted as I. |
The French pronunciation of [i] is a bit different from the English [i]. It is not like [i] in the word “six”, it is more like [i] in the word “be”, but not that long. The lips are spread to the side, like a smile. The mouth is almost closed. The tongue is flat and touches the palate.
Also do not forget that sounds in all the French syllables should be pronounced clearly. For example: il vivifie — he enlivens. The pronunciation is [ilvivifi], not [əlvivifi] or [əlvəvəfi] etc.
Exercise 1. Read the words and try to memorize them:
| il [il] — he; it | livre [li:vr] — book |
| (masculine form) | libre [libr] — free |
| île [il] — island | ami [ami] — friend |
| idée [ide] — idea | amie [ami] — friend (fem.) |
| Yves [i:v] — Yves (male name) | mari [mari] — husband |
| ici [isi] — here | parti [parti] — party |
| fils [fis] — son (the letter l | midi [midi] — south; midday, noon |
| is not pronounced here) | Paris [pari] — Paris |
| type [tip] — type | merci [mɛrsi] — thank you |
| vite [vit] — quickly, fast | triste [trist] — sad |
| mille [mil] — (a) thousand | lycée [lise] — secondary/high school |
| ville [vil] — city, town | pyramide [piramid] — pyramid |
| Lille [lil] — Lille (a city in France) | système [sistɛm] — system |
Exercise 2. Read:
| cette idée [sɛtide] — this idea | tes livres [teli:vr] — your books |
| ses idées [sezide] — his ideas | ces îles [sezil] — these islands |
| il est libre [ilɛlibr] — he is free | les pyramides [lepiramid] — the pyramid |
| elle est libre [ɛlɛlibr] — she is free | Paris est là [pariɛla] — Paris is there |
| mes amies [mezami] — my friends (fem.) | la ville est belle [lavilɛbɛl] — the city is beautiful |
| les villes [levil] — the cities | Yves et Nana [i:venana] — Yves and Nana |
| ces systèmes [sesistɛm] — these systems | elle est triste [ɛlɛtrist] — she is sad |
Exercise 3. Translate into French:
| 1. your friends (fem.) | 7. Paris and Lille | ||
| 2. these cities | 8. the city is there | ||
| 3. its systems | 9. Yves is free | ||
| 4. his books | 10. his there | ||
| 5. these types | 11. Anna is sad | ||
| 6. the high schools |  |
||
Exercise 4. Read and try to memorize the verbs with the sound [i]:
dîner [dine] — to have dinner
décider [deside] — to decide
terminer [tɛrmine] — to end, to finish
imiter [imite] — to imitate
arriver [arive] — to arrive
visiter [vizite] — to visit
dire [di:r] — to say, to tell
lire [li:r] — to read
rire [ri:r] — to laugh
vivre [vi:vr] — to live
finir [fini:r] — to finish, to end
Exercise 5. Read and translate:
faire vite
décidez !
lire et rire
dînez là !
terminez !
allez vite !
Silent / Mute letter h
The French alphabet has a letter that is never pronounced, that is why it is called silent — h (or mute h), the capital form is Н.
Exercise 6. Read and try to memorize the new words:
habiter [abite] — to live (in), inhabit
hiver [ivɛ:r] — winter
trahir [trai:r] — to betray
habile [abil] — skilled, skil(l)ful
hybride [ibrid] — hybrid
hymne [imn] — hymn
hésiter [ezite] — to hesitate
Sound [j]
| French sound | Similar English sound | French letters and letter combinations | Notes |
semi-vowel [j] |
[j] as in the words onion or yeah |
ill |
Exceptions: mille [mil] — thousand, ville [vil] — city, Lille [lil] — Lille. |
| il | The letter combination il is pronounced as [j] after a pronounced vowel, for example: détail [detaj] — detail. | ||
| i | The letter i is pronounced as [j] before a pronounced vowel, for example: rivière [rivjɛ:r] — river. |
Exercise 7. Read the words and try to memorize them.
famille [famij] — family
fille [fij] — daughter
il travaille [iltravaj] — he works/is working
travail [travaj] — work
détail [detaj] — detail
pièce [pjɛs] — room
ciel [sjɛl] — sky
Pierre [pjɛ:r] — Pierre (male name)
pierre [pjɛ:r] — stone
hier [jɛ:r] — yesterday
rivière [rivjɛ:r] — river
marié [marje] — married (masc.)
mariée [marje] — married (fem.)
Exercise 8. Read and translate:
| ces rivières | Sa fille est mariée | ||
| les pierres | Yves est marié | ||
| Elle travaille | Pierre est malade et triste | ||
| Ma famille est là | Il travaille ici |
Consonants at the end of words
More about consonants at the end of words see also lesson 1, lesson 3, lesson 4, lesson 9, lesson 10, lesson 11, lesson 12.
Exercise 9. Read paying attention to the letters in bold and memorize the new words you meet:
| après [aprɛ] — after | les hivers [lezivɛ:r] — the winters |
| très [trɛ] — very | bas [ba] — low (masc.) |
| mais [mɛ] — but | lait [lɛ] — milk |
| ils [il] — they (masc.) | tard [ta:r] — late |
| elles [ɛl] — they (fem.) | il est prêt [ilɛprɛ] — he is ready |
| elle est prête [ɛlɛprɛt] — she is ready |
that start in a vowel or silent h, for example:
très avare [trɛzava:r] — very miserly,
très habile [trɛzabil] — very skilled.
