Inversion euphonique
 |
|
| Share / Tweet / Pin Me! | |
When inversion results in a hiatus (two vowel sounds together), the letter -t must be added for euphony, but only
- with the subject pronouns il, elle, and on
- when the verb ends in a vowel
Par exemple…
| il aime | > | aime-t-il |
| elle parle | > | parle-t-elle |
| on a | > | a-t-on |
| il y a | > | y a-t-il |
This includes when the verb ends in –te, which means that a schwa must be pronounced between the two t sounds:
| IPA | ||||
| il monte | > | monte-t-il | [mɔ̃ tə til] | |
| elle hante | > | hante-t-elle | [ã tə tɛl] | |
| on écoute | > | écoute-t-on | [e ku tə tɔ̃] |
However, -t is not added when the verb ends in a consonant, because that consonant makes a required liaison with the vowel that follows so there’s no need for the euphonic -t.
| il sait | > | sait-il | ||
| elle met | > | met-elle | ||
| on prend | > | prend-on |
Related lessons
- Introduction to inversion
- Word order with inversion
- Euphony
- Liaisons
- Schwa / e instable
- Subject pronouns
- Verbs
Share / Tweet / Pin Me!
This free website is created with love and a great deal of work. If you love it, please consider making a 
Verb conjugation tables for more than 1,600 French verbs in all the simple and compound tenses and moods.
In English, we say that the vowels are “a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y.” The last couple of words hint at one of the keys to understanding pronunciation: a vowel is not so much a letter as the sound represented by a letter or combination of letters.
Practice is the key to improving your French, and just 15 minutes a day on some kind of French activity can make a huge difference. Check out these ideas and draw up your own schedule.