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.
You must log in to post a comment.