French pronunciation
The pronunciation of the letter combinations ail (at the end of a word) and aill (anywhere) is somewhat tricky to explain in writing. The phonetic spelling is [aj]; in the Lawless phonetic system, it’s [ahy]. Imagine saying "ah" then adding a y sound to the end. The closest English approximations are "I" and "eye."
| Par exemple… |
| ail (m) | garlic |
| le bail | lease |
| faillir | to almost (do something) |
| la taille | size |
| la paille | straw |
| bâiller | to yawn |
Many nouns that end in –ail have an irregular plural.
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N’importe literally means “no matter” or “(it) doesn’t matter.” This indefinite expression can precede an interrogative adjective, adverb, or pronoun when talking about something indefinite or non-specific.
