Accents

An accent mark may change the sound of a letter, the meaning of a word, replace a
letter that existed in old French, or have no perceivable effect at all. Accents are
used only on vowels and under the letter c.

 An accent aigu ( ) is only used on an e (é) and produces the sound ay, as in
“day.” It may also replace an s from old French. When you see this letter,
replace the é with an imaginary s to see if its meaning becomes more evident.

étranger = stranger
école = school
étable = stable (horses)
étudier = to study
télé = tv
cheminée = chimney

 An accent grave ( ` ) may be used on an à or ù where it causes no sound

change, or on an è, producing the sound of eh as in the e in “get.” An accent
grave ( ` ) may be used on an à or ù where it causes no sound change, or on
an è, producing the sound of eh.
 Eg : frère = brother
 Mère = mother
 père = father
 règle = rule
 après = after

 An accent circonflexe (∧) may be placed on any vowel but causes no

perceptible sound change. It, too, often replaces a “s” from old French, which
may give a clue to the meaning of the word.

forêt = forest
être = to be
île = island
château = castle
pâte = pasta
 A cédille ( ) is placed under a “c” (ç), to create a soft (s) sound before the
letters a, o, or u.

ça = it/ this
garçon = boy
français = French
leçon = lesson
reçu = received
façade = frontage

 A tréma ( ) is placed on the second of two consecutive vowels to indicate

that each vowel is pronounced independently.

Noël = Christmas