elision (French)

In written French, elision (both phonetic and orthographic) is obligatory for the following words:

• the definite articles {{Lang|fr|le}} and {{Lang|fr|la}}
• {{Lang|fr|le garçon}} ("the boy"), {{Lang|fr|la fille}} ("the girl")
• {{Lang|fr|le}} + {{Lang|fr|arbre}} → {{Lang|fr|l'arbre}} ("the tree"), {{Lang|fr|la}} + {{Lang|fr|église}} → {{Lang|fr|l'église}} ("the church")
• the subject pronouns {{Lang|fr|je}} and {{Lang|fr|ce}} (when they occur before the verb)
• {{Lang|fr|Je dors}}. ("I sleep") {{Lang|fr|Ce serait génial}}. ("That would be great.")
• {{Lang|fr|J'ai dormi}}. ("I slept.") {{Lang|fr|C'était génial}}. ("It was great.")
• but: {{Lang|fr|Ai-je imaginé}} ? ("Did I imagine?"), {{Lang|fr|Est-ce utile}} ? ("Is that useful?")
• the object pronouns {{Lang|fr|me}}, {{Lang|fr|te}}, {{Lang|fr|se}}, {{Lang|fr|le}}, and {{Lang|fr|la}} (when they occur before the verb)
• {{Lang|fr|Jean se rase, la voit, me téléphone}}. ("Jean shaves himself, sees her, phones me.")
• {{Lang|fr|Jean s'est rasé, l'a vue, m'a téléphoné}}. ("Jean shaved himself, saw her, phoned me.")
• but: {{Lang|fr|Regarde-le encore une fois}}. ("Look at him one more time.")
• the object pronouns {{Lang|fr|le, la, moi, toi}} when they occur after an imperative verb and before the pronoun {{Lang|fr|en}} or {{Lang|fr|y}}:
• {{Lang|fr|Mettez-le, donne-les-moi, casse-toi}}. ("Put it, give me them, scram.")
• {{Lang|fr|Mettez-l'y, donne-m'en, va-t'en}}. ("Put it there, give me some, leave.")
• the negative marker {{Lang|fr|ne}}
• {{Lang|fr|Elle ne parle plus}}. ("She isn't talking anymore.")
• {{Lang|fr|Elle n'arrête pas de parler}}. ("She won't stop talking.")
• the preposition {{Lang|fr|de}}
• {{Lang|fr|Le père de Jean vient de partir}}. ("Jean's father just left.")
• {{Lang|fr|Le père d'Albert vient d'arriver}}. ("Albert's father just arrived.")
• {{Lang|fr|que}} (which has many different functions)
• {{Lang|fr|Que dis-tu ? Que Jean ne fait que manger}}. ("What are you saying? That Jean does nothing but eat.")
• {{Lang|fr|Qu'as-tu dit ? Qu'il ne nous restait plus qu'une semaine}}. ("What did you say? That we only had one more week left.")
• The conjunction {{Lang|fr|si}} plus the pronouns {{Lang|fr|il}} and {{Lang|fr|ils}}
• {{Lang|fr|si elle aime les chats}} ("if she likes cats")
• {{Lang|fr|s'il(s) aime(nt) les chats}} ("if he/they like cats")

Elision is indicated in the spelling of some compound words, such as {{Lang|fr|presqu'île}} "peninsula", {{Lang|fr|aujourd'hui}} "today", and {{Lang|fr|quelqu'un}} "someone".

At the beginnings of words, the aspirated h forbids elision.

Example: {{Lang|fr|Le Havre}}.

The mute h, however, requires elision.

Example: {{Lang|fr|l'homme}}.

Both types of "h" are silent regardless.

Elision of the second-person singular subject pronoun {{Lang|fr|tu}}, before the verbs beginning with a vowel or mute h (silent h), and of the particle of negation {{Lang|fr|ne}}, is very common in informal speech, but is avoided in careful speech and never used in formal writing:{{fact|date=August 2024}}

• {{Lang|fr|Tu as décidé de lui rendre visite, tu es allé voir le film, tu n'étais pas là, je ne sais pas}}. "You decided to visit them, you went to see the film, you were not there, I don't know." (careful speech)
• T'as décidé de lui rendre visite, t'es allé voir le film, t'étais pas là, je sais pas. (informal speech)

• Liaison (French)
• Elision — broader discussion of elision in other languages

• Maurice Grevisse, Le Bon Usage, 14th edition by André Goosse, de Boeck, 2007, {{ISBN|978-2-8011-1404-9}}

Category:French language

Category:Silent letters

fr:Élision