French Tutorial

Pronunciation Guide 3 French Vowels and Semi-vowels French Consonants Liaison - Linking

Liaison (or linking) occurs between two words in the following situation:

• The first word has a final silent consonant.
• The second word starts with a vowel or silent h sound.

When these two words are linked in speech, the normally silent consonant sound is pronounced and the two words are pronounced as one. The final [s] sound is pronounced as [z]; the nasal n becomes regular [n] sound.

In some cases the liaison is mandatory. You should memorize the rules for this type of liaison and learn how to use them.

Top Three Rules for Obligatory Liaison

• article + noun
  un_arbre, les_arbres
  
• number + noun
  
  deux_ans, huit_heurs
  
• pronoun + noun
  
  leurs_enfants, cet_hôtel
  
• adjective + noun
  
  petit_oiseau
• one-syllable preposition + noun/article
  
  en_été, dans_un restaurant, sans_arrêt
  
  

• vous_étudiez, Ont-ils téléphoné?
  
  

• C'est_une vraie blonde., Il est_unique en son genre.
  
  

Forbidden Liaison

In some French words starting with H, the liaison is not allowed. In this case the H is called H aspiré. These words are marked in dictionaries with a special symbol.

1. before nouns starting with h aspiré:
   
   les hérons
   
   
2. noun + adjective:
   
   un restaurant italien
   
3. name + verb:
   
   Jean arrive demain.
   
4. verb + article/preposition:
   
   Ils ont un enfant., Je pars en Irlande.
   

Optional Liaison

There are cases when liaison is considered a matter of personal preferences and is called 'optional'. Most often optional liaison occurs after pas, plus, trop.

1. pas_assuré - pas assuré;  plus_élastique - plus élastique