1.1.2
Accents
Accents in French
Accents in French
It is important to understand how the use of accents changes the sound of words.
French accents
French accents
- There are five different accents in French:
- ç - the cedilla (la cédille)
- é - the acute accent (l'accent aigu)
- â, ê, î, ô, û - the circumflex (l'accent circonflexe)
- à, è, ì, ò, ù - the grave accent (l'accent grave)
- ë, ï, ü - the trema (l'accent tréma)
- It is important to pronounce accents correctly as it is the only way to tell the difference in meaning between some words.
Use of the acute and grave accents
Use of the acute and grave accents
- The acute accent is used to stress an 'e' in French.
- It can only ever be found on an e and is pronounced 'eh'.
- Eg. 'ferme', means a totally different thing to 'fermé'.
- 'Ferme' means 'farm', and 'fermé' means 'closed'.
- The grave accent is used on an 'a', 'e', or 'u'.
- e.g. 'ou' (or) and 'où' (where)
Use of the cedilla
Use of the cedilla
- The cedilla is only found under 'c' and changes the pronunciation to an 's'.
- Cs with a cedilla are only ever found before 'a', 'o' or 'u'. e.g. 'français' or 'garçon'.
- Cs found before an 'e' or 'i' are pronounced like an 's' anyway.
Use of the circumflex and trema
Use of the circumflex and trema
- The circumflex can be found above every vowel and generally doesn't change the pronunciation.
- A circumflex is used to differentiate between words that are spelt the same but have different meanings. e.g. sur (on) and sûr (sour).
- The trema can be found above 'e', 'i' or 'u'.
Accents in French
Accents in French
It is important to understand how the use of accents changes the sound of words.
French accents
French accents
- There are five different accents in French:
- ç - the cedilla (la cédille)
- é - the acute accent (l'accent aigu)
- â, ê, î, ô, û - the circumflex (l'accent circonflexe)
- à, è, ì, ò, ù - the grave accent (l'accent grave)
- ë, ï, ü - the trema (l'accent tréma)
- It is important to pronounce accents correctly as it is the only way to tell the difference in meaning between some words.
Use of the acute and grave accents
Use of the acute and grave accents
- The acute accent is used to stress an 'e' in French.
- It can only ever be found on an e and is pronounced 'eh'.
- Eg. 'ferme', means a totally different thing to 'fermé'.
- 'Ferme' means 'farm', and 'fermé' means 'closed'.
- The grave accent is used on an 'a', 'e', or 'u'.
- e.g. 'ou' (or) and 'où' (where)
Use of the cedilla
Use of the cedilla
- The cedilla is only found under 'c' and changes the pronunciation to an 's'.
- Cs with a cedilla are only ever found before 'a', 'o' or 'u'. e.g. 'français' or 'garçon'.
- Cs found before an 'e' or 'i' are pronounced like an 's' anyway.
Use of the circumflex and trema
Use of the circumflex and trema
- The circumflex can be found above every vowel and generally doesn't change the pronunciation.
- A circumflex is used to differentiate between words that are spelt the same but have different meanings. e.g. sur (on) and sûr (sour).
- The trema can be found above 'e', 'i' or 'u'.
1Phonics/Alphabet/Spellings
1.1Alphabet & Accents
2Family & Home
2.1Family
2.1.1My Name
2.1.2My Age
2.1.3Talking About Yourself
2.1.4Adjectives Must Agree
2.1.5Colours
2.1.6Physical Appearance
2.1.7Personality
2.1.8Family Members
2.1.9Eldest & Youngest
2.1.10Other Family Members
2.1.11Immediate Family - Listening
2.1.12Extended Family - Listening
2.1.13Family Life - Listening
2.1.14Family in Paris - Listening
2.1.15Numbers 1-10
2.1.16Numbers 11-20
2.1.17Numbers 21-29
2.1.18Numbers 30-100
2.1.19Months of the Year
2.1.20What Time Is It?
2.1.21Time of the Year
2.1.22Years
2.1.23Describing Others
2.1.24Friends
2.1.25Pets
2.1.26Days of the Week
2.1.27Frequency
2.2Home
2.3Customs & Traditions in French Speaking Countries
3Lifestyle
3.1Food
3.2Sports & Games
4Education & Future Plans
4.1School
5Leisure, Free Time & Media
5.1Free Time
5.1.1Opinion Phrases
5.1.2Conjugating Two Verbs
5.1.3Music
5.1.4Instruments
5.1.5Cinema
5.1.6TV
5.1.7Books
5.1.8Mobile Technology
5.1.9Social Networks
5.1.10Video Games
5.1.11Advantages of Technology
5.1.12Dangers of Technology
5.1.13Social Media
5.1.14Justifying Preferences
5.1.15Weekend Activities - Listening
5.1.16Summer Activities - Listening
6Wider World
6.1Town & Region
6.2Holidays
7Grammar
7.1Present Tense
7.1.1Regular ER Verbs
7.1.25 Common ER Verbs
7.1.3Regular IR Verbs
7.1.45 Common IR Verbs
7.1.5Regular RE Verbs
7.1.65 Common RE Verbs
7.1.7Irregular ER Verbs - Aller
7.1.8Verbs That End in 'cer' and 'ger'
7.1.9Stem Changing Verbs
7.1.10Irregular IR Verbs Like 'Partir'
7.1.11Irregular IR Verbs That End in 'vrir'
7.1.12Irregular IR Verbs That End in 'enir'
7.1.13Irregular IR Verbs With No Pattern
7.1.14Modal Irregular IR Verbs
7.1.15Prendre
7.1.16Irregular RE Verbs That End in 'ttre'
7.1.17Irregular RE Verbs With No Pattern
7.1.18Reflexive Verbs
7.1.19Avoir
7.1.20Être
7.1.21Faire
7.1.22Aller
7.1.23Modal Verbs - Vouloir
7.1.24Modal Verbs - Pouvoir
7.1.25Modal Verbs - Devoir
7.2Perfect Tense
7.3Imperfect Tense
7.3.1Imperfect Tense - Regular ER Verbs
7.3.2Imperfect Tense - 5 Common ER Verbs
7.3.3Imperfect Tense - Regular IR Verbs
7.3.4Imperfect Tense - 5 Common IR Verbs
7.3.5Imperfect Tense - Regular RE Verbs
7.3.6Imperfect Tense - 5 Common RE Verbs
7.3.7Imperfect Tense - Irregular ER Verbs
7.3.8Imperfect Tense - Être
7.3.9Imperfect Tense - Irregular IR Verbs
7.3.10Imperfect Tense - Irregular RE Verbs
7.3.11When to Use the Imperfect vs the Perfect
7.4Future Tense
7.5Conditional Tense
7.6Passive
7.7Imperative
8Other Grammar
8.1Nouns
8.2Adjectives
8.3Pronouns
8.5Infinitive Phrases
8.8Prepositions
8.9Asking Questions
Jump to other topics
1Phonics/Alphabet/Spellings
1.1Alphabet & Accents
2Family & Home
2.1Family
2.1.1My Name
2.1.2My Age
2.1.3Talking About Yourself
2.1.4Adjectives Must Agree
2.1.5Colours
2.1.6Physical Appearance
2.1.7Personality
2.1.8Family Members
2.1.9Eldest & Youngest
2.1.10Other Family Members
2.1.11Immediate Family - Listening
2.1.12Extended Family - Listening
2.1.13Family Life - Listening
2.1.14Family in Paris - Listening
2.1.15Numbers 1-10
2.1.16Numbers 11-20
2.1.17Numbers 21-29
2.1.18Numbers 30-100
2.1.19Months of the Year
2.1.20What Time Is It?
2.1.21Time of the Year
2.1.22Years
2.1.23Describing Others
2.1.24Friends
2.1.25Pets
2.1.26Days of the Week
2.1.27Frequency
2.2Home
2.3Customs & Traditions in French Speaking Countries
3Lifestyle
3.1Food
3.2Sports & Games
4Education & Future Plans
4.1School
5Leisure, Free Time & Media
5.1Free Time
5.1.1Opinion Phrases
5.1.2Conjugating Two Verbs
5.1.3Music
5.1.4Instruments
5.1.5Cinema
5.1.6TV
5.1.7Books
5.1.8Mobile Technology
5.1.9Social Networks
5.1.10Video Games
5.1.11Advantages of Technology
5.1.12Dangers of Technology
5.1.13Social Media
5.1.14Justifying Preferences
5.1.15Weekend Activities - Listening
5.1.16Summer Activities - Listening
6Wider World
6.1Town & Region
6.2Holidays
7Grammar
7.1Present Tense
7.1.1Regular ER Verbs
7.1.25 Common ER Verbs
7.1.3Regular IR Verbs
7.1.45 Common IR Verbs
7.1.5Regular RE Verbs
7.1.65 Common RE Verbs
7.1.7Irregular ER Verbs - Aller
7.1.8Verbs That End in 'cer' and 'ger'
7.1.9Stem Changing Verbs
7.1.10Irregular IR Verbs Like 'Partir'
7.1.11Irregular IR Verbs That End in 'vrir'
7.1.12Irregular IR Verbs That End in 'enir'
7.1.13Irregular IR Verbs With No Pattern
7.1.14Modal Irregular IR Verbs
7.1.15Prendre
7.1.16Irregular RE Verbs That End in 'ttre'
7.1.17Irregular RE Verbs With No Pattern
7.1.18Reflexive Verbs
7.1.19Avoir
7.1.20Être
7.1.21Faire
7.1.22Aller
7.1.23Modal Verbs - Vouloir
7.1.24Modal Verbs - Pouvoir
7.1.25Modal Verbs - Devoir
7.2Perfect Tense
7.3Imperfect Tense
7.3.1Imperfect Tense - Regular ER Verbs
7.3.2Imperfect Tense - 5 Common ER Verbs
7.3.3Imperfect Tense - Regular IR Verbs
7.3.4Imperfect Tense - 5 Common IR Verbs
7.3.5Imperfect Tense - Regular RE Verbs
7.3.6Imperfect Tense - 5 Common RE Verbs
7.3.7Imperfect Tense - Irregular ER Verbs
7.3.8Imperfect Tense - Être
7.3.9Imperfect Tense - Irregular IR Verbs
7.3.10Imperfect Tense - Irregular RE Verbs
7.3.11When to Use the Imperfect vs the Perfect
7.4Future Tense
7.5Conditional Tense
7.6Passive
7.7Imperative
8Other Grammar
8.1Nouns
8.2Adjectives
8.3Pronouns
8.5Infinitive Phrases
8.8Prepositions
8.9Asking Questions
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