Patterns of French orthography. Accent circonflexe in verb forms, inflections, suffixes

 Listen to the audio lesson with additional explanations

I think that many have already noticed that sometimes there are different icons above and below the French letters: sticks, houses, dots, worms, commas ...

As you understand, they are drawn for a reason.

The letter of the alphabet already known to us is e (this is the one when we fold our lips as if we were talking about, but we say uh) with different icons is pronounced differently.

é

If you see such an icon above it (accent aigu (acute accent) or “stick to the right”), you need to pronounce it, smiling.

Prepare your lips for the sound and and say it yourself uh.

That is, stretch the lips to the ears as much as possible. And with such a smile from ear to ear and say uh.

fé e, bé bé, café, é cole, é tudie, ré cit, té lé, é té, é crire, litté rature, pré fé ré

Cé cile dé teste le café.
C "est l" é cole numé ro deux.
C "est la discipline pré fé ré e de Bé né dicte.
Le bé bé de Pé pé a le nez e pate.
Il a pitié des bé bé s.

e ê ё

The scientific name for these icons is: accent grave, accent circonflexe, tréma (let's call them in our own way - a stick to the left, a house, two dots).

All three options are pronounced the same, like Russian uh.

trè s, prè s, aprè s, frè re, pè re, mè re, poè te, crè me, problè me, modè le
fê te, bê te, rê ve, crê pe, forê t, fenê tre, Noё l

C "est le pè re de Pierre.
Le Noé l est ma fê te préférée.

I hope everyone knows that the French language grew out of Latin (as well as Italian, Spanish). That is, Latin roots predominate in French words.

So. Where in Latin the letter s was in this root, in modern French the letter is above house. But in other languages (and not only Romance, but, for example, in English and Russian), this s has been preserved.

look at the word fê te!

Let's restore the letter hidden under the house. What happened? Festa.

What does it remind us of? Look at the Spanish word fiesta and the Russian word for festival. Correctly! It's a "holiday"! So you can guess the meaning of the word in which there is e with a house.

And now the word forê t.

We act in the same way. Restoring the letter s - forest.

Those who speak English have already understood that this is a "forest". By the way, this letter has been preserved in French, for example, in the word forestier (forester).

Two dots can stand not only above e, but also above other letters too.

The main purpose of this icon is to separate vowels.

Usually two vowels in a row make one sound. For example, the letter combination a i is read as uh(more on this later).

But if you put not one, but two dots over i, this letter combination will be read as ai.

naï f, égoï ste, Raphaé l, Noé l

The house (accent circonflexe) and the “stick to the left” (accent grave) can stand not only above the letter e.

These icons can be used to differentiate the meaning of words.

du - masculine partial article (or continuous article)
dû is the past tense of the verb devoir

sur - preposition "on, about"

a - verb avoir (to have) for pronouns "he, she"
à - preposition "in"

ou - union "or"
où is an interrogative word “where? where?"

la - pronoun "her" (answers the question "who?")
là - adverb "there, here"

Attention! It has no effect on pronunciation.

ç

garçon, leçon, maçon, façon, façade, limaçon, reçu

Apostrophe

This is such a comma above and to the right of the letter, which hides an extra vowel underneath.

In French, everything should be fine :) But two vowels in a row is a mess.

You can't leave de elle. It is necessary to hide the vowel in the preposition under the apostrophe. It turns out d "elle.

Instead of le arbre - l "arbre, je ai - j" ai.

You get used to it very quickly, because very quickly you realize that it is really much more convenient to pronounce it this way.

Lesson summary"Letters with icons":

é (lips for sound and and say it yourself uh):
Cé cile dé teste le café.
è ê ё (Russian uh):
Le pè re de Noé l rê ve de fê te.
ç (Russian with):
Le garç on a reç u une leç on.
apostrophe:
instead of le arbre - l "arbre, je ai - j" ai.
two dots above a vowel separate it from the previous one, that is, they do not form letter combinations, but are pronounced separately:
egoï ste, Noé l
house over a vowelû distinguishes the meaning of words, does not affect pronunciation:
su r - preposition "on, about"
sû r - adjective "confident"
wand to the left above the letterà distinguishes the meaning of words, does not affect pronunciation:
a - verb avoir (to have) for pronouns "he, she"
à - preposition "in"

General patterns of use of superscript characters (accents).

There are four superscripts in the French script; three accents (grave, aigu, circonflexe) and tréma. Consider a comparative table of general positional patterns and functions of superscripts (including tréma).

The use of signs with letters and basic letter combinations:

In addition, tréma occurs in graphic syntagmas; ouï, uï, ayo, oy. No signs are placed above y, œ, eau. Only tréma can be placed over a nasal vowel (coïncider).

Accent circumflex.

Accent circonflexe can be placed over any simple vowel: â, ê, î, ô, û or combination of letters: aî, eî, oî, eû, oû, oê = except y, au, eau.

Accent circonflexe is never placed over a vowel preceding two consonants (except for indivisible groups: tr, cl, etc.) and the letter x. Exceptions: a) before double ss in the words châssis ‘frame’, châssis ‘chassis’ and in the forms of the verb croître; b) in the passé simple of the verbs venir, tenir (and their derivatives): nous vînmes, vous vîntes, etc.

Accent circonflexe is never placed over a vowel followed by another vowel, whether the latter is pronounced or not, for example: crû (m.p.), but: crue (f.p.). Exception: bailler.

In a combination of two vowels, accent circonflexe always stands above the second: traître, théâtre.

Accent circonflexe is not placed over the last letter of the word. Exception: participles dû, crû, mû, interjections ô, allô and foreign words and names (Salammbô, etc.), onomatopoeia (bê-ê!).

Accent circonflexe is not placed over e if it is the first letter in the word. Exception: être.

Accent circonflexe is never placed over nasal vowels. Even when an accent circonflexe is used in a given root, it disappears if the vowel takes on a nasal timbre:

traîner, entraîner, but: train, entrain; jeûner, but: a jeun. Exceptions: nous vînmes, vous vîntes, etc.

Accent circonflexe never breaks letter combinations, unlike accent aigu and tréma.

Reasons for using accent circonflexe.

The use of accent circonflexe is explained by a number of factors: etymological (it is placed in place of the disappeared letter), phonetic (to indicate the duration of a vowel in combination with a change in its timbre), morphological (in some types of word formation), differentiating (to distinguish between homonyms).

Accent circonflexe is most often used as a replacement for a letter that has disappeared from pronunciation and writing, primarily s. It is no coincidence that accent circonflexe is not used before s.
Exceptions: châsse, châssis, forms of the verb croître. dropped before another consonant s could be preserved in the same root in words borrowed from Latin and other languages, after the process of the disappearance of s stopped. In Russian borrowings, this s can also be represented. Therefore, as a way to check the spelling [ˆ], it is recommended to compare it with other words of the same root where s is preserved, or with the corresponding Russian words (alternating s -ˆ):

fête - festival - festival; bête - bestial - beast, etc.

In more rare cases, [ˆ] replaces another disappeared
consonant apart from s:

p:ame< anima; t: rêne < retina; d: Rhône < Rhodanus.

In a number of words, [ˆ] appeared instead of a gaping vowel, that is, before another vowel. The disappearance of this vowel caused the longitude of the remaining one, which is indicated by the sign [ˆ]:

myr< meur < maturum; sûr < seur < securum;

role< roole < rotulam; вge < eage < etaticum.

And in modern orthography [ˆ] is put instead of the omitted e muet in a number of cases of word production and inflection.

4. Disappearance s led to a change in the sound of the previous vowel. The omission of a vowel in gaping had a similar effect. The remaining vowel received longitude (the so-called historical longitude), and its timbre also changed: it is pronounced closed [α:], ô - closed [o:], ê - open [ε:]. This gave reason to interpret [ˆ] as an indicator of a change in the sound of a letter, and in a number of words it was introduced in order to convey the corresponding shade of pronunciation of a vowel, without regard to etymology, for example: cône, grâce, interjections ô, allô. Longitude is not always preserved, mainly in the stressed syllable; as a rule, such [ˆ] stands above the stressed vowel (most often above o), in other words of the same root the vowel becomes unstressed and loses longitude, [ˆ] may disappear, cf .: cône - conique; grâce - gracieux, etc.

Phonetic [ˆ] is often found in words of Greek origin to denote [ε:], [o:], [α:]. However, when using it, one cannot rely solely on pronunciation, since in many cases such a pronunciation of a vowel is not marked with the sign [ˆ]. So, they write cône, diplôme, arôme but: zone, cyclone, although in all words it sounds [o:].

In the use of [ˆ], two conflicting tendencies collide. On the one hand, the morphological tendency forces us to use [ˆ] in all words of a given root, regardless of the pronunciation tête [ε:] - têtu [e]), on the other hand, the phonetic tendency forces us to put and omit [ˆ] depending on the pronunciation in one and the same root (cône - conique). The struggle between these two tendencies leads to frequent deviations and inconsistencies in the use of the sign [ˆ]. In many cases [ˆ] is retained or omitted only by virtue of tradition. In addition, in modern pronunciation, the differential features of phonemes expressed by the sign [ˆ] are weakened: [ε] coincides with [e], â and a, ô and o are neutralized (especially in an unstressed syllable).

The arbitrary nature of the use of [ˆ] in some cases gave reason to use it out of touch with etymology and pronunciation by analogy or, conversely, as a distinctive sign (differentiation of homonyms). Sometimes [ˆ] is preserved in words of "solemn sound": chrême, châsse, baptême. In other cases, it is used ornamentally in loanwords to emphasize their "exoticism": pô, stûpa.

Accent circonflexe in verb forms, inflections, suffixes.

I. Accent circonflexe is written in the following verb forms.

1. In the forms of the 1st and 2nd sheets. pl. h. passé simple of all verbs:

nous parlâmes, dîmes, lûmes, eûmes, vînmes; vous parlâtes, dîtes, lûtes, eûtes, vîntes.

Exceptions: nous haïmes, vous haïtes (here tréma emphasizes the separate reading of a - i, which cannot show [ˆ]) and by tradition in nous ouïmes, vous ouïtes.

In the forms of the 3rd l. units h. imparfait du subjonctif of all verbs: qu'il parlât, qu'il dot, qu'il eût, qu'il vont; [ˆ] here - historical origin (from parlast, etc.). Exception: qu'il hait.

In the forms of verbs in -aître, -oître (naître, connaître, paître, paraître, croître and their derivatives). In two cases before t:

1) in the infinitive: naître, accroître and, consequently, in futur and conditionnel: il naîtra, il naîtrait;

2) in the 3rd l. units h. présent de l'indicatif: il naît, il accroît. In these verbs [ˆ] replaces the dropped s. Before s [ˆ] disappears: je nais, tu nais, but: il naît, etc.

4. In the forms of the verb croître ‘to grow’, in contrast to the verb croire ‘to believe’.

Present de l'indicatif Imperatif

croire: je crois, tu crois, il croit crois

croître: je croos, tu croîs, il croît croîs

croire: je crus, tu crus, il crut, ils crurent

croître: je crûs, tu crûs, il crût, ils crûrent

Imparfait du subjonctif

croire:que je crusse, tu crusses, il crût, nous crussions, vous crussiez, ils crussent

croître: que je crûsse, tu crûsses, il crût, nous crûssions, vous crûssiez, ils crûssent

Note. The derived verbs accroître, décroître have [ˆ] only in the 3rd letter. units h. présent de l'indicatif: il décroît - according to the general rule of verbs in aître, -oître.

5. In the 3rd l. units h. présent de l'indicatif of the verbs plaire (déplaire, complaire), gésir, clore - pepper, t (instead of the dropped s): il plaît, il déplaît, il complaît, il gît, il clôt.

Note: il éclot is currently written without the accent circonflexe.

6. In the participe passé of some verbs:

crû (croître) - in contrast to cru (croire) and cru (adj and m); dû (devoir) - unlike du (article contracté and partitif); mû (mouvoir) - according to tradition, instead of a dropped vowel in a gaping (< теи).

In the plural and in feminine forms, the accent circonflexe disappears: crus, crue; dus, due; mus, mue.

Note. In derivative verbs [ˆ] is not used: accru, décru, indu, ému, promu; however, they write redû (redevoir), recrû p. p. and s m (recroître) but: recru (de fatigue).

Accent circonflexe is used in the following cases in word formation.

In the suffix of adjectives and nouns -âtre (expresses the incompleteness of the feature): noirâtre ‘blackish’, marâtre ‘stepmother’.

7. In the adjective suffix -être: champêtre ‘field’ (cf.: terrestre ‘earthly’).

8. In the endings of the names of the winter months of the republican calendar (in 1793-1805): nivôse, pluviôse, ventôse.

When studying English, Russian-speaking people have to learn the rules for using one special icon - the apostrophe. What is it, when is it used, and in what languages is it still used? Let's find the answers to all these questions!

Origin of the term

The considered word "apostrophe" came to Russian and other foreign languages from ancient Greek. The term apostrophos that existed in it was formed from the words: apo (from) and strepho (I turn). So literally this noun is translated as "turned from something." Most likely, the shape of this very icon was meant.

In the Slavic languages, this term came through the mediation of French, in which it is very often used to this day.

Apostrophe - what is it?

This name refers to a linguistic character that looks like a comma (') or a single quote ("), but, unlike them, is placed at the top of the line.

The apostrophe sign is widely used in different languages of the world, but often for different purposes. Let's look at the most famous of them.

Ukrainian apostrophe

As you know, in such as Belarusian and Ukrainian there is no solid separating sign (ъ). Instead, the considered graphic icon (') is used to signal the separate pronunciation of sounds.

Most often, it is put when writing the so-called Ukrainian "words with an apostrophe" - terms in which labial consonants and "r" are written before the diphthongs "i", "u", "є", "ї". For example: p'yatirka, tim'yachko, pir'ya and the like.

Also, this sign is used after prefixes or the first part of compound words that end in a solid consonant, before the above diphthongs. As an example, we can cite such words with an apostrophe: about "єm (volume), about" Java (announcement), pіd "їzd (entrance).

It is worth noting an interesting fact: after the Reform of the Russian language in 1918, for almost two decades, the apostrophe was widely used in all spheres as a separating sign. Therefore, all three of the above Ukrainian words in Russian were also written with an apostrophe. And only in 1956 "b" became the only separating character in the Russian language. At the same time, Ukrainian and Belarusian completely lost it, but at the same time retained """.

What role does the apostrophe play in Russian

In addition to the above cases of using the studied sign in the Ukrainian language, there is one more. And it is also used in Russian. We are talking about writing words of foreign origin.

Most often this applies to proper names. For example, the name of a famous British writer is Peter O'Donnell, or the name of the main character in the movie Gone with the Wind is Scarlett O'Hara.

In addition to the above case, the use of an apostrophe is acceptable in Russian when it is necessary to separate Russian endings or suffixes from the initial part of a word written in Latin: “My mother finally understood how to use E-mail correctly.”

Use of the apostrophe in English and other foreign languages

Having learned the answer to the main question “Apostrophe - what is it?”, And also having considered the cases when it is used in Russian and Ukrainian, it is worth paying attention to the use of this sign in other languages.

In French, this sign is widely used to indicate missing vowels. For example: le homme - l'homme (man).
In German, in order to avoid confusion with words that end in the sound [s], this sign on the letter helps to indicate the genitive case in them. For example: Thomas (Thomas - nominative) and Thomas "(Thomas - genitive).
In Esperanto, the apostrophe is used to shorten the article la: l" kor" (la koro). Also in this language, this graphic sign is used to indicate the elision of the final vowel in nouns in the Nominative case of the singular.
In the Macedonian language, the apostrophe plays an even more important role. There it denotes a neutral vowel sound in separate dialectisms: "k'smet" (kismet), "s'klet" (cut).

The use of the apostrophe in transcription

Knowing that an apostrophe is what it is in a letter, it is worth figuring out what role it plays in transcription.

In most cases like this, the sign is used to indicate the place of stress.

In many Slavic languages (including Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian), an apostrophe in transcription denotes the softness of the preceding consonant, but not the soft sign, as some claim. Since this sign is "mute" and signals only the softness of the previous sound. As an example, consider the word "July": [iy "st"].

In conclusion, it is worth noting that when working in text editors, it is not always convenient to switch the layout of languages \u200b\u200bin order to put an apostrophe (it is only in the English font). Therefore, there is an easier way: the Alt key is pressed and at the same time the code "39" or "146" is typed on a separate numeric keypad.

As in any other language, the words of the French language are built from the letters of the alphabet. It is these very letters, as well as the sounds of the French language, that we will discuss today.

Many letters of the French alphabet are read in their own way, in speech they have their own pronunciation. Let's quickly begin to consider the situation in the French alphabet!

Friends, if you are already fairly learning French, then, of course, you know its alphabet! But, as they say, repetition is the mother of learning, so pay attention once again to the French alphabet. And most importantly, what does the transcription of its letters look like.

The French language uses an alphabet of Latin origin, which consists of 26 letters representing 35 phonemes.

Aa[a]	Jj [Ʒi]	Ss [ɛs]
bb	Kk	Tt
CC	Ll [ɛl]	Uu[y]
Dd	Mm [ɛm]	vv
Ee [ǝ]	Nn [ɛn]	www
Ff [ɛf]	Oh [o]	xx
Gg [ʒe]	pp	Yy
hh	Qq	Zz
Ii[i]	Rr [ɛr]

A few remarks should be made about some of the letters in the alphabet. Letters k and w are written only in words with a foreign origin. Letter h not pronounced, but it may indicate readings of adjacent letters. If letter h used at the beginning of a word, in French they distinguish h mute-h muet) and h aspirated- h aspire. With words that start with h aspirated, binding is prohibited. In addition, there is no truncation of the article before such words: lehero - hero. In dictionary h aspirated, as a rule, in dictionaries is indicated by an asterisk (*). French alphabet with words in pictures

A few words about reduction and sounds

Reduction in the language is the weakening of the sound of vowels in an unstressed position. In French speech, partial reduction (changing the timbre of vowels) is less common. It is more characteristic of a complete reduction (compulsory cases of dropping a fluent [ə]).

As for vowel sounds, it is worth mentioning the fact that in French the labialization of vowels (and hence the participation of the lips in speaking) plays an important role.

As for consonants, the polarization of consonants at the place of articulation attracts attention here. This suggests that French has relatively more labial consonants, which form at the very front of the vocal apparatus.

Spelling marks of French letters

In this section, we will talk about the well-known accent grave, accent aigu, accent circonflexe and other sticks and dots over French letters.

The sign ` above the letter è is an orthographic sign that indicates the openness of the sound (accent grave):

la mere, le pere, le frere

The same sign over the letter à and over the combination of letters où, which has a semantic and distinctive meaning:

a - 3 l. verb (il a)
a - preposition

ou - or
où - where

The sign ´ above the letter é is an orthographic sign that indicates the closed sound (accent aigu):

le café, j'ai parlé, capacité

The symbol ˆ above the letter ê, ô, î, â is a spelling mark indicating the openness and elongation of the sound or the omitted consonant (accent circonflexe):

la tête, la fenêtre, les vêtements, l'âme, il plaît, le dôme

The sign ̈ of two horizontal dots above a vowel indicates that this vowel is read, it is pronounced (tréma):

le maïs, Citroën, naïf

The tail ¸ under the letter ç is an orthographic sign indicating that ç is read [s] contrary to the usual rule (cédille):

Francais, Besancon

The apostrophe ‘ sign indicates the omission of a vowel before another vowel, or before a mute h:

l'eleve, l'heure

Dividing words into syllables

Now let's see how French words are divided into syllables.

First, consider the cases of a syllable boundary before a consonant:

When a consonant is between two vowels:

fatigue
la chaleur
jamais [ʒa-‘mε]

When there are two identical consonants in a row, which are pronounced as one sound: mm, tt, ss, rr, pp, etc.

appeler
casser
laisser
grammar

If two consonants are in a row, of which the second is a sonant (r, l, m, n). Such a group is called an indivisible consonant group (for example: br, cr, fl, gr):

fabricator
ecrire
agreable

When the consonant + semivowel are in a row (for example: j, ɥ):

le mariage
spirituel
le metier

Cases where the syllable boundary passes between consonants:

If two different consonants go in a row in any combination (excluding one: consonant + sonant):

marcher
parler
l'artiste
la gymnastics
detector
servir

If two lls are in a row:

il l'aime
il lit

Well, here we have dismantled the French letters. Now we know how they are pronounced and how to divide words into syllables. We wish you good luck and see you soon!

As you know, the letter e without signs in an open syllable (as well as in monosyllabic words like je, me, le) reads like [œ] (in passing, we note that phoneticians can designate this sound in transcription in different ways, depending on which letter or combination it is expressed ,-[ə], [œ] and even [ö]; but for convenience, hereinafter we will use one universal icon [œ]). Yes, this is the same sound that drops out in polysyllabic words (as in Madeleine - Madeleine).

It happens that due to a number of circumstances, in some places the letter e in an open syllable is not read as [œ], but is transformed into [e]. And in order to mark this in writing, the French came up with the idea of putting accent aigu, or acute, over it. write é instead of e. In other words, we can deduce a clear rule that the acute is placed over the letter e only in an open syllable to change its pronunciation from [œ] to [e] .

Note: acute is also placed at the end of words like né, publicité, sé curit é etc, where, firstly, it shows that the final letter is readable, and secondly, it denotes its pronunciation as [e].

Remember: accent aigu in French can be only over e!

Lyrical digression No 1: about closed and open syllables

It was said above that accent aigu is placed over e in an open syllable. What is open syllable ? Everyone probably remembers from school that syllables are open and closed (I will add, to increase fear, that syllables are still covered and uncovered). The syllable is considered open, if during syllable division it ends in a vowel. The syllable is considered, respectively, closed if during syllable division it ends with a consonant (we can say that it, this consonant, “closes” the syllable). How does syllable division occur, where does the syllable boundary pass? The principles are:

1) there are as many syllables in a word as there are vowels (the combinations eau, eu, au, ai, ou etc, read as one sound, are equated to one letter).

2) if after vowel has only one consonant (and not two or three in a row), then the syllable boundary passes immediately after this vowel, and the consonant goes to the next syllable, and the syllable remains open: for example e couter; We divide: e-cou-ter ( the first two syllables are open).

3) if a vowel is followed by two or more consonants in a row, then the first consonant remains in the first syllable, and the rest go to the second syllable, so this first syllable remains closed: for example, regarder - we divide re-gar-der (the first syllable is open, but the second and third are closed). If a word ends in a consonant (as in our two examples), then the final syllable of that word is closed.

There is one small nuance: in French there is a so-called "indivisible group" - consonant + sonorant (sonorous consonants include voiced consonants that do not have a voiceless pair: m, n, r, l; accordingly, indivisible groups will be, for example, -br- , -cl-, -dr-etc.). In syllable division, such a group goes entirely into the next syllable. For example, the word écrivain will be divided into syllables like this: é-cri-vain (we leave the first vowel open, so there is an acute here). Combinations ch, qu and gue fall under this principle of “indivisibility” (pé-cher, é-qua-ris-seur, é-guine). But after the letter x, the syllable is always considered closed: examen (since the syllable boundary passes, as it were, in the middle of the letter x; this happens because this letter generates two consonants - or - one goes into the first syllable, closing it, and the second into the next ).

We must remember that the rules of syllable division only fix our intuitive desire to divide words into syllables, and not vice versa. Similar rules of syllable division operate in the Russian language, and we use them intuitively and divide words into syllables correctly, without thinking (bra- tim, not po-ra-tim, for example).

Accent grave

Accent grave, or grave, is placed above the letter e in the final open syllable , which turns out to be opened due to the mute letter e at the end, for example probl è m e. Let's break this word into syllables: pro-ble-me . Formally, the penultimate syllable is considered open, in which e formally should read like [œ]. About the essence - insofar as last e unreadable - word ends in a consonant: . To resolve this ambiguity, this contradiction between the formal and the factual side of the matter, over the letter e and an accent grave is placed.

The rule for arranging a grave is as follows: in this position, an accent grave is placed if in front of a mute e (i.e. between these two e at the end of a word):

1) there is one consonant: colè r e, frè r e,

2) goes described by us above indivisible group(consonant + sonorant): rè gl e,

3) there is a letter combination pronounced as one consonant sound: collè gu e, bibliothè qu e

Separately, it should be noted that gravity is also placed above the penultimate e and in words ending in s.

And again, there is an explanation for this. As we know, the singular and plural in French do not differ by ear, i.e. the addition of the letter s in no way affects the pronunciation / unpronunciation of the previous letter (for example, in the word chos e final e unreadable in both singular and plural: chos es ). But what to do in the event that we have before us not a plural, but a word that “by its nature” has at the end-es , such as progres, congres, pres, etc. After all, we, it turns out, should not read here e ! So, in order to eliminate ambiguity and distinguish between these two cases, it was decided here to put an accent grave over e before the final s (to confirm that e is read) - progrè s, congr è s and prè s ( in parallel, I note that the word Express not included in this group, because has two at the end s and is a phonetic exception - in it ss are read).

Before a doubled consonant, as well as before the letter x, the grave over e is never placed. This can be remembered as a simple rule, and below it will be explained why.

Digression No 2: open and closed sound e

As already mentioned at the very beginning, there is one caveat in reading the letter e (when it is not read as [œ]). This letter can have, as phoneticians say, an open and a closed pronunciation. Physiologically, openness/closeness is expressed by the opening (opening) of the mouth. At the same time, there are sounds that are always only closed (say, [i]), and there are sounds that are always only open (for example, percussion [a]). But e behaves like a chameleon, adapting to the environment - its phonetic environment. In general, openness-closedness depends on how convenient it is for the organs of speech to pronounce this sound in each case. For example, in Russian in the word these we pronounce the first vowel rather closed (of course, because here comes the naturally closed [i]), but in the word this the first vowel is closer to an open one (after all, the letter o is next, which is pronounced as an open sound [a]). In Russian, vowels are more subject to adjacent influence than in French, but in general this phenomenon is present in both languages. Let's say if a French letter e stands in closed syllable, as well as in the ending -et (once t read, and for him it is necessary to expand the opening of the jaws), then it has open pronunciation [ ɛ ] . And now, if we remember that the letter x, as well as two or more consonants, the syllable will certainly close, then the icons are not needed there, because there must be an open e. AT other endings with unreadable consonants (except -et), including in infinitive endings in -er, verb forms in -ez, in monosyllabic words in -es (and in some cases in an open syllable) it is more convenient for the organs of speech to pronounce closed version .

How is closeness/openness related to icons? The thing is that in an open syllable, the sound [œ] can only be transformed into a closed sound [e], so the acute icon is also called the closed icon. And the grave, if we look at the examples, is placed at the end of words in cases where the syllable is essentially closed (and the vowel, respectively, is pronounced openly), but due to the fact that the mute e is at the end of the word, the syllable may be incorrect interpreted as open (in other words, the gravity is set to eliminate ambiguity). Therefore, it is called the sign of openness (meaning the openness of pronunciation, and not the openness of the syllable, here, by the way, the mnemonic rule is appropriate: a closed syllable is an open vowel, and vice versa!).

But what if suffixes are added to the word or endings are discarded, and the vowel e changing neighbors? In this case e passes like a pendulum from one"positions" in another. This happens in verbs like acheter, and signs are placed according to the above rules: in the infinitive acheter, the letter e , denoting an unstable sound [œ], drops out (no signs are needed), however, when conjugated in the present tense, the ending -er is discarded, and the sound, ending up in the last syllable (which opens the silent e) , becomes open [ ɛ ]. In order to indicate such a transition of sound, over e gravity is set: j "ach ète, tu ach etes , il ach ète .

Note: there are some exceptions here - where instead of the icon, they simply forcibly double the consonant after e, which gives us a closed syllable in which e will be read closed anyway (for example, appe l er, but je m'appe ll e) . The French Academy (the regulatory body of the Francophone community) has long tried to determine which verbs should be considered exceptions. Usually they called those infinitives where the “reborn” e is followed by t or l, but this did not always work. Therefore, the academicians decided that it is necessary to apply the doubling principle in two verbs - appeler (je m'appelle) and jeter (je jette) and their derivatives.

By analogy, the verb cé is also conjugated l e brer, only here there is an alternation of not [œ] and [ɛ], and [e] and [ɛ]: c é l é brer - je cé l è bre.

Sometimes double pronunciation and spelling of words is generally acceptable, say é v é nement and é v è nement ( the dictionary gives two versions of this word, separated by commas).

Lyrical digression No 3

Again about the openness and closeness of sounds e. It must be admitted that in modern French the difference between them can be erased - the French speak very quickly, vowels and consonants are reduced, and in general the language itself does not stand still. It was said above about doubling consonants in writing in order to close the syllable in this way - both in verbs and in other parts of speech, this formally guarantees us an open sound e , say t e rre, f e sse, inté r e ssant. However, today there are practically no cases left when these consonants were pronounced doubled. The question arises - after all, if ss, tt, ll, rr etc in speech are pronounced as one letter, then the syllable should open (and open e should we not pronounce? The answer is yes and no. Phonetically - the syllable opens (and this is reflected in the transcription), but the vowel continues to be pronounced as before, as if the syllable is closed. This happens due to the special phonetic memory of native speakers (from the same series h is aspirated: the letter is not pronounced, but the memory remains)! Therefore, writing double consonants for the French is not just a whim: in this way, once closed (and now actually open) syllables are marked, in which the vowel is read in the old fashioned way. This, by the way, also explains the need to preserve the letter ç in the language. ( c ce dille, which was borrowed from the Spaniards, and the creators themselves quickly abandoned it), because, say, the word leç on with such spelling it is read, and write his lesson- it will be already. You can, of course, write with one s, but then it will definitely sound between vowels and will be ( in Spanish there is no such phenomenon - voicing s in intervocalic position - s is always pronounced dull)

With other vowels, everything is much simpler - here accent grave is used only to distinguish between the words à (preposition in) and a (verb avoir in the form "he / she"), là (there) and la (article), où (where) and ou (or).

Accent circumflex

Circumflex , or, as it is also called, “house”, can be placed above all vowels, except y . Historically, this icon began to be written over a vowel, after which in classical Latin there was a combination s +<согласный>, but by now s dropped: fenê tre ( window, lat. fenestra), cha teau ( lat. castellum), être (Old French estre, from Vulgar Latin essere, from Latin esse) .

Finally from the letter s, which by that time was no longer pronounced in many words, the French got rid of it at the beginning of the 18th century. The illustrations show the entries for the same word fenêtre / fenestré in dictionaries published by the French Academy in 1694 and 1740 respectively.

It is believed that the vowels ô and ê standing under the “house” are lengthened and pronounced closed. Vowel û does not change its quality, and the circumflex is used rather to distinguish the words sû r( confident) and sur (over), dû ( participle of the verb devoir) and du (the fused form of the masculine article and the partial article). The use of the house on the letter â , in addition to dropping s , is due to the fact that back-lingual long was once widely represented in French. Today, this sound is almost closer to the usual a, however, “house” is traditionally written: théâ tre.

Accent tre ma

Trema ( pronounced with the accent on the last syllable), or a colon, is used when it is necessary to show that the vowel is not included in the combination and is read on its own: é goïste, naïf etc. A special case of using tré ma: above letter ë it is placed after the combination gue at the end of words to indicate that u(!) is read (and she e still not!). There are few such examples: aiguë ( feminine from aigu - sharp, high). Sometimes trema can also occur above the letter ü itself. after g in the middle of a word with the same purpose - to indicate that u is not a defense against e , but acts as a full-fledged sound. However, French orthography does not definitively regulate this case of use, so in some places you can see both linguistique and lingü istique. The trema is also retained in a number of words with combinations that used to give a special sound, but now gradually disappear from the arena, say in the word Noë l the colon is placed because before, and even now in some places, the combination oe without colon pronounced similarly oi those. (although in this form, i.e. without trem, this combination occurs in only a few rudimentary words that should be remembered as phonetic exceptions). If you need to say oe separately - put three.

According to the rules of French orthography, writing letters without icons is considered a mistake, an exception is made only for large (capital) letters. However, in practice, the French themselves can often ignore les accents.

apostrophe

Apostrophe in French is put when it happens elision - loss of final–a and –e in function words and merging with subsequent words - c'est, l'é cole etc. Letter Dropout i only happens on collision si with the pronouns il and ils: s'il, s'ils. An apostrophe is also written in a number of words that are formed as a result of a merger, for example, aujourd'hui (a_le_jour_de_hui)

Consonants.

Verbs starting with app- are always written with two pp: app rendre, app laudir, exception : apercevoir.

Words beginning with comm- are spelled with two mms: comm encer, un comm uniste.

Words beginning with corr- are spelled with two rrs: corriger, corr ect.

Words beginning with diff- are spelled with two ffs: diff e rente, diff icile.

Before consonants m , b and p are always written m , not n : e mm ener, no mb reux, co mp ter, the exception is bonbon.

Verbs ending in [-ã dr], always have - e ndre: appr endre, ent endre , att endre .

Nouns ending in-eur , do not have -e at the end, except for: heure, demeure and beurre.

Masculine nouns ending in –oir are written without the mute e , and feminine - with dumb-e : un soir, une poire. However, since masculine suffix -toire always spelled with mute-e : un conservatoire, un laboratoire etc.

Nouns in-al do not have -e mute if they are masculine, and if they are feminine: un journal, un spiral, une morale.

Nouns in-i are written without -e if they are masculine,-e - if feminine: un mari, un parti, une vie, une acadé mie.

Masculine nouns like le travail, le soleil do not end with -il, and feminine nouns like la famille, la feuille end with -ille.

Feminine nouns ending in-u, written with silent -e : une revue, une rue.

Feminine nouns ending in é , are written with dumb e : une anne e, une all é e, but this rule does not apply to those words that end in-té : l'Université , la facult é (except une dicté e).

Silent -e have verbs at the end: a) type cond uire (trad uire , constr uire , n uire, etc) b) if at the end there are more than one consonant together (pre ndr e, vi vr e) c) the “smallest” and “most irregular” verbs - faire, rire, lire, dire, é crire, ê tre and their derivatives.

Silent -e do not have: 1) all verbs I-II gr. 2) verbs III gr. type av oir (except boire) 3) and others ending in -ir(except suffire).

Spelling of participles with endings [i](forms m.s. units are given)

at the end is written -is 3 verbs III gr. + their derivatives	at the end is written -it 8 verbs III gr. + their derivatives (all these verbs end in -ire)	written at the end -i all verbs II gr. and 18 verbs III gr.
assis (s'asseoir)	conduit (conduit)
	construct (construct)

	De truit (dé truire)

	é crit (é crire)

	instruit (instruire)

Other models of participle formation

ending -ait [ɛ] 3 verbs III gr. -aire	nasal ending -eint, -aint, -oint 9 verbs III gr. on - indre	ending -ert 4 verbs III gr. on -ir
	craint (craindre)	couvert (couvrir)
	empreint (empreindre)	offert (offrir)
distrait (distraire)	feint (feindre)	ouvert (ouvert)
	paint (peindre)	souffert (souffer)
	plaint (plaindre)
	restreint (restreindre)
	teint (teindre)
	joint (joindre)

Well, special cases of formation for a number of verbs:

1) clos (clore, close), é clos (é clore, blossom)

2) eu (avoir), é t é (ê tre), mort (mourir), n é (na î tre)

Discussion of the article and complex cases of the use of axants on the forum(with explanatory comments by Artem Chumakov, the author of the article): in the topic A difficult word, and then continued in the topic Évènement This article has an author, Artem Chumakov. Here is his page on Google+. Copying of materials is possible only with his consent!