Letter E Transcription Rules

Front 1

Pronounce é as [e]

Back 1

été, défaut, dictée, élément

Front 2

Pronounce è, ê, and ë as [eh]

Back 2

pére, forêts, sortilège, après, Noël, rêver

Front 3

Exception to è, ê, and ë rule

Back 3

Sait-Saëns

Front 4

When e occurs before a single consonant followed by a vowel, it is pronounced as a schwa.

Back 4

cheval, banderilles, premier, venez, demain, cheveux, jeter, rayonnement

Front 5

e after another vowel or glide is usually silent

Back 5

gaiement or payement

Front 6

When e occurs before two or more consonants, it is pronounced as [eh] before the letter x which has two phonetic consonant sounds.

Back 6

esprit, permettre, elle, nerveux, est, servir, esclave, verse exile, geste, expert, soutanelle

Front 7

e in initial ess or eff is close [e]

Back 7

essor or effort

Front 8

e in prefix re before two or more consonants is schwa.

Back 8

refrain or reflux

Front 9

e when followed by m or n and another consonant is ã

Back 9

emporte or enrobe

Front 10

When e occurs before a final pronounced consonant, it is pronounced as [eh]

Back 10

avec, hôtel, chef, rappel

Front 11

Examples of words ending in final pronounced r

Back 11

hiver, cher, mer, ver

Front 12

When e occurs before a final silent consonant, it is usually e

Back 12

pied or allez

Front 13

Pronounce er in verb endings

Back 13

chanter,chercher, importer, donner, rêver, danser, monter, refuser, aller, écouter, poser, bouler, doubler, charger

Front 14

When final er occurs in nouns and adjectives, it is sometimes [eh-r]. In endings like ier and yer the er is pronounced as e

Back 14

guerrier, danger, premier, léger, berger, foyer, étranger, portier, boulanger, épicier

Front 15

Final es in a polysyllable word is silent of schwa depending on the number of notes provided in the melody. Final es as a pluralization occurs frequently in French.

Back 15

parles, elles, lettres, belles, écloses, noires

Front 16

Final es in a monosyllable word is pronounced e

Back 16

des, les, tes, mes

Front 17

Final et is pronounced [eh]

Back 17

goulet, filet, flanchet, bouquet

Front 18

Remember that in French, scwa is more forward and rounded than the schwa in English

Back 18

le, parle, je, image, fumée, embrumée

Front 19

Pronounce eau or eaux as [o]

Back 19

beau, beaux, l'eau, ruisseaux, tombeau, nouveau

Front 20

Pronounce ei as [eh]

Back 20

seine, geignard, seize, cheik, soleil, appareilles, vermeil, meilleur, veille, sommeil

Front 21

When the letters eim or ein are final or before another consonant, pronounce them as the nasal vowel [eh] Don not pronounce the m and n consonants unless in liaison.

Back 21

Reims, plein, teint, peindre.

Front 22

When the letters eim or ein are followed by a vowel or another m or n, do not nasalize them, but pronounce them as eh-m or eh-n.

Back 22

reine, seine

Front 23

When the letter em or en are final or before another consonant, pronounce them as the nasal vowel ã. Do not pronounce the m and n consonants unless in liaison.

Back 23

temps, enfant, ensemble, encor

Front 24

The letters en after i are pronounced as a nasalized [eh] Do not pronounce the n unless in liaison.

Back 24

bien, combien, rien, reviens

Front 25

When the letters em or en are followed by a vowel or another m or n, do not nasalize them.

Back 25

émission, émule, énervant, Céne, tenir, tennis

Front 26

Exception: Initial emm is nasalized

Back 26

emmancher or emmêler

Front 27

Final ent in verbs is silent or schwa depending on the number of notes in the music.

Back 27

parlent, semblent, donnent, envolent, songent, plaignent, tournent, échangent, tombent, disent

Front 28

Otherwise ent in nouns and adjectives is pronounced as ã.

Back 28

Firmament, patient, excellent, emplacement

Front 29

Whne the letters eu are in the interior of a word, they are usually pronounced as œ

Back 29

peuple, jeune, heure, malheur, seigneur, monseigneur.

Front 30

eu before the sound of z is ø

Back 30

creuset or malheureuse

Front 31

eû is ø

Back 31

jeûner

Front 32

Other exceptions to the eu rule are

Back 32

jeudi, Europe, and Euridice

Front 33

When eu is the final sound of the word and not necessarily the final letters pronounce it as ø

Back 33

peu, honteux, veut, malheureux, jeu, joyeux, queue, bleu, bleue, bleues

Front 34

Note: Final r and rs are silent in these two words

Back 34

monsieur or messieurs

Front 35

When the normally silent final consonant is pronounced in liaison, it does not change the preceding vowel sound.

Back 35

peut-être