Intro: Welcome to the French Made Easy podcast, where I give you all the basics you need to speak French clearly and confidently. I'm your host, Mathilde, and I'm a French teacher, mumpreneur, and bread and cheese lover. Join me as I dive into all things French for beginners, and deliver to you bite-sized and easy-to-follow lessons every Tuesday. Let's get started, "on commence"!
Bonjour à tous! Welcome back to the French Made Easy podcast! This is episode number 68, numéro 68!
In this episode, you'll learn how to pronounce the letters "-ent" at the end of words. It's about time I talk about this, as I see many students struggling with it.
Now, before we dive into today's episode, a quick note to let you that my pronunciation webinar for complete beginners is back! It's called 5 Steps to Clear French Pronunciation. If you haven't signed up yet, you can do so at mathildekien.com/webinar. It's free.
Ok, so let's get started with today's lesson.
There are two ways to pronounce the letters "-ent" at the end of words:
[ã]
silent
So, the letters "-ent" are pronounced [ã] at the end of words when the word is either a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.
For example:
Il y a du vent. (It's windy. Word-for-word translation: There is some wind.) "vent" is a noun, so the letters "-ent" at the end of that word are pronounced [ã].
Il est très lent. (He's very slow.) "Lent" is an adjective, so the letters "-ent" are pronounced [ã].
Evidemment ! (Obviously!) Evidemment is an adverb, so the letters "-ent" are pronounced [ã].
If you're a bit lost about nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and other parts of speech, stay tuned, I'll have a lesson on this coming very soon.
Ok so the other way to pronounce the letters "-ent" at the end of words is simple: you don't.
When the letters "-ent" are located at the end of a conjugated verb, at the 3rd person of the plural, you do not pronounce them;
So after "ils" and "elles" (in the plural), the letters "ent" are silent.
Let's see an example:
Ils mangent des fruits. (They are eating fruits.) Here the letters "-ent" are located at the end of a conjugated verb, the verb "manger" (to eat) conjugated in the 3rd person of the plural, so you don't pronounce them.It's not "ils mangeant"; it's "ils mangent." Very common mistake.
Elles parlent français. (They speak French) Elle parlent français. It's not "elles parlent français."
