In French, elision (élision) is the suppression of a final unstressed vowel (usually /ə/) immediately before another word beginning with a vowel or a silent ⟨h⟩. The term also refers to the orthographic convention by which the deletion of a vowel is reflected in writing, and indicated with an apostrophe.
In written French, elision (both phonetic and orthographic) is obligatory for the following words:
the definite articles le and la
le garçon ("the boy"), la fille ("the girl")
le + arbre → l'arbre ("the tree"), la + église → l'église ("the church")
the subject pronouns je and ce (when they occur before the verb)
Je dors. ("I sleep") Ce serait génial. ("That would be great.")
J'ai dormi. ("I slept.") C'était génial. ("It was great.")
but: Ai-je imaginé ? ("Did I imagine?"), Est-ce utile ? ("Is that useful?")
the object pronouns me, te, se, le, and la (when they occur before the verb)
Jean se rase, la voit, me téléphone. ("Jean shaves himself, sees her, phones me.")
Jean s'est rasé, l'a vue, m'a téléphoné. ("Jean shaved himself, saw her, phoned me.")
but: Regarde-le encore une fois. ("Look at him one more time.")
the object pronouns le, la, moi, toi when they occur after an imperative verb and before the pronoun en or y:
Mettez-le, donne-les-moi, casse-toi. ("Put it, give me them, scram.")
Mettez-l'y, donne-m'en, va-t'en. ("Put it there, give me some, leave.")
the negative marker ne
Elle ne parle plus. ("She isn't talking anymore.")
Elle n'arrête pas de parler. ("She won't stop talking.")
the preposition de
Le père de Jean vient de partir. ("Jean's father just left.")
Le père d'Albert vient d'arriver. ("Albert's father just arrived.")
que (which has many different functions)
Que dis-tu ? Que Jean ne fait que manger. ("What are you saying? That Jean does nothing but eat.")
Qu'as-tu dit ? Qu'il ne nous restait plus qu'une semaine. ("What did you say? That we only had one more week left.")
The conjunction si plus the pronouns il and ils
si elle aime les chats ("if she likes cats")
s'il(s) aime(nt) les chats ("if he/they like cats")
Elision is indicated in the spelling of some compound words, such as presqu'île "peninsula", aujourd'hui "today", and quelqu'un "someone".
At the beginnings of words, the aspirated h forbids elision. Example: Le Havre. The mute h, however, requires elision. Example: l'homme. Both types of "h" are silent regardless.
Informal Frenchedit
Elision of the second-person singular subject pronoun tu, before the verbs beginning with a vowel or mute h (silent h), and of the particle of negationne, is very common in informal speech, but is avoided in careful speech and never used in formal writing:
Tu as décidé de lui rendre visite, tu es allé voir le film, tu n'étais pas là, je ne sais pas. "You decided to visit them, you went to see the film, you were not there, I don't know." (careful speech)
T'as décidé de lui rendre visite, t'es allé voir le film, t'étais pas là, je sais pas. (informal speech)
elision, french, french, elision, élision, suppression, final, unstressed, vowel, usually, immediately, before, another, word, beginning, with, vowel, silent, term, also, refers, orthographic, convention, which, deletion, vowel, reflected, writing, indicated, . In French elision elision is the suppression of a final unstressed vowel usually e immediately before another word beginning with a vowel or a silent h The term also refers to the orthographic convention by which the deletion of a vowel is reflected in writing and indicated with an apostrophe Contents 1 Written French 2 Informal French 3 See also 4 ReferencesWritten French editIn written French elision both phonetic and orthographic is obligatory for the following words the definite articles le and la le garcon the boy la fille the girl le arbre l arbre the tree la eglise l eglise the church the subject pronouns je and ce when they occur before the verb Je dors I sleep Ce serait genial That would be great J ai dormi I slept C etait genial It was great but Ai je imagine Did I imagine Est ce utile Is that useful the object pronouns me te se le and la when they occur before the verb Jean se rase la voit me telephone Jean shaves himself sees her phones me Jean s est rase l a vue m a telephone Jean shaved himself saw her phoned me but Regarde le encore une fois Look at him one more time the object pronouns le la moi toi when they occur after an imperative verb and before the pronoun en or y Mettez le donne les moi casse toi Put it give me them scram Mettez l y donne m en va t en Put it there give me some leave the negative marker ne Elle ne parle plus She isn t talking anymore Elle n arrete pas de parler She won t stop talking the preposition de Le pere de Jean vient de partir Jean s father just left Le pere d Albert vient d arriver Albert s father just arrived que which has many different functions Que dis tu Que Jean ne fait que manger What are you saying That Jean does nothing but eat Qu as tu dit Qu il ne nous restait plus qu une semaine What did you say That we only had one more week left The conjunction si plus the pronouns il and ils si elle aime les chats if she likes cats s il s aime nt les chats if he they like cats Elision is indicated in the spelling of some compound words such as presqu ile peninsula aujourd hui today and quelqu un someone At the beginnings of words the aspirated h forbids elision Example Le Havre The mute h however requires elision Example l homme Both types of h are silent regardless Informal French editElision of the second person singular subject pronoun tu before the verbs beginning with a vowel or mute h silent h and of the particle of negation ne is very common in informal speech but is avoided in careful speech and never used in formal writing Tu as decide de lui rendre visite tu es alle voir le film tu n etais pas la je ne sais pas You decided to visit them you went to see the film you were not there I don t know careful speech T as decide de lui rendre visite t es alle voir le film t etais pas la je sais pas informal speech See also editLiaison French Elision broader discussion of elision in other languagesReferences editMaurice Grevisse Le Bon Usage 14th edition by Andre Goosse de Boeck 2007 ISBN 978 2 8011 1404 9 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Elision French amp oldid 1170912740, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
