In today’s lesson I’ll explain how to pronounce ENT in French. While the rule is very simple, even advanced students can accidentally pronounce the ENT when it should be silent. The rule is: don’t pronounce the ENT on the end of a verb in the ils/elles form. Pronounce it on the end of an adverb.
ENT pronunciation in French
Example sentences
Verbs
For verbs in the third-person plural (ils/elles) form, never pronounce the ENT. It is completely silent. For example, in ils restent (they stay), end the pronunciation on the T. For ils voyagent (they travel), end the word on the soft G.
Ils ne restent pas à la maison parce qu’ils voyagent.
They’re not staying home because they’re traveling.
This same rule applies for the the following two example sentences. The ENT is silent on the ends of parlent (speak), doivent (must) and adorent (love) as the verbs are conjugated in the ils/elles form.
Les touristes ne parlent pas français. Ils doivent apprendre.
The tourists don’t speak French. They must learn.
Les enfants adorent jouer ensemble.
The kids love playing together.
Adverbs
Always pronounce the ENT on the end of adverbs with the nasal sound [ã]. Camille at French Today covers the pronunciation of the French nasal sounds in this lesson. This final example uses rien (nothing, anything), which I cover in this lesson.
Parlez lentement, s’il vous plaît. Je ne comprends rien !
Speak slowly, please. I don’t understand anything!
Conclusion
Et voilà ! Now you know how to pronounce ENT in French. Now you might be interested in a related lessson covering the 25 hardest words to pronounce in French.
