Abbreviations

01

Articles and Prepositions

The definite articles le the and la the change to l' before a vowel sound. Note that the plural article les never elides; it keeps its 's' (which is pronounced as a 'z' sound in liaison).

• L'arbre est grand.

  The tree is tall.

• L'école est fermée.

  The school is closed.

The preposition de of/from also consistently elides to d'. This applies even when de is part of a fixed phrase.

• Je viens d'Italie.

  I come from Italy.

• C'est un jus d'orange.

  It is an orange juice.

02

Pronouns and Negation

Subject pronouns, object pronouns, and reflexive pronouns ending in 'e' or 'a' undergo elision. This includes je I, me me, te you, se himself/herself, le him/it, and la her/it.

• J'aime la musique.

  I like music.

• Il m'écoute.

  He listens to me.

• Elle s'habille.

  She gets dressed.

The negation particle ne becomes n' before a vowel.

• Je n'ai pas de temps.

  I do not have time.

• Tu n'es pas prêt.

  You are not ready.

03

The Conjunctions 'Que' and 'Si'

The word que that/what and its compounds (like parce que, dès que, jusque) always elide before a vowel. However, the relative pronoun qui who never elides, even before a vowel.

• Qu'est-ce que c'est ?

  What is it?

• Il dit qu'il est fatigué.

  He says that he is tired.

The conjunction si if follows a unique rule. It only elides before the pronouns il he and ils they. It does not elide before elle or any other word starting with a vowel.

• S'il pleut, nous restons ici.

  If it rains, we stay here.

• Si elle vient, appelle-moi.

  If she comes, call me.

04

The Silent 'H' vs. Aspirated 'H'

In French, the letter 'h' is never pronounced, but it affects elision differently depending on the word's history.

• Silent H (H muet): Acts like a vowel. Elision is required.
• Aspirated H (H aspiré): Acts like a consonant. Elision is forbidden.

There is no phonetic difference in the 'h' itself; you must learn which category a noun belongs to.

• L'homme est ici.

  The man is here. (Silent H: elision occurs)

• Le héros est courageux.

  The hero is brave. (Aspirated H: no elision)

05

Exceptions

There are specific words where elision does not occur, even though they start with a vowel. Common examples include numbers like onze eleven and the word oui yes.

• Le onze novembre.

  The eleventh of November.

• Le oui est définitif.

  The yes is definitive.