Liaison

The letters s, x, z, t, d, n and m, normally silent when at the end of a word, are often pronounced when the next word begins with a vowel.

Liaison with the letters s, x, and z...

trois amis
three friends
les enfants
the children
aux enfants
to the children
mes élèves
my students
certaines idées
certain ideas
vieux hôtels
old hotels
les avenues
the avenues
petits hommes
little men
chez eux
their home
nous avons
we have
vous êtes
you are

with the letters t and d..

petit ami
boyfriend
Où sont-ils ?
Where are they?
Où est-elle ?
Where is she?
un grand hôtel
a large hotel
Ils sont en haut
They are up there.

As already mentioned, h is silent. The words beginning with h that are of latin origin act as if they begin with a vowel and liaison occurs. However, the words beginning with h that are of non-latin origin act as if they begin with a consonant - liason does not occur.

When liaison occurs with the letters n and m, they are pronounced and the vowel is denasalized.

un an
three friends
son idée
his idea
le prochain an
the next year

Elision

With elision the opposite of liaison occurs - sounds normally pronounced become silent. The vowel sound of these short one syllable words all go silent before a vowel or mute h:

je me te se le la de ne que jusque

French orthography marks elision by replacing the vowel with an apostrophe and combining the words.

j'ai
I have
elle m'a embrassé
I have
il t'aime
I have
il s'est blessé
I have
l'enfant
I have
l'amour
I have

The word si is elided only before the masculine pronouns il and ils. The word quelque is elided only before un.

s'il peut
I have
quelqu'un
somebody

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