French

VIRTUAL FRENCH TEACHING IN JHS 2  

WEEK-ENDING 09/10/2020.

TOPIC: Liaison [ljεzɔ] = Liaison           

OBJECTIVES:

By the end of the lesson, the learner will be able to:

1. recognize when to make a liaison.

2. recognize when not to make a liaison.

3. read French fluently by applying the obligatory liaisons.

Liaison is the pronunciation of two words (in French) as if they were one. In French, when a word ends in a silent consonant and the next word begins with a vowel or silent ‘h’ both words are pronounced together. This is known as liaison. Some liaisons are obligatory while others are optional. In some cases, liaison is forbidden. In today’s lesson, we shall look at obligatory and forbidden liaisons.

Below are the major sounds made in a liaison:

/z/ after s, x, z, (about 50% of all liaisons)

/t/ after t and d, (about 25% of all liaisons)

/n/ after certain determinants, pronouns and

      adjectives (about 25% of all liaisons)

/R/ after certain adjectives (less than 1% of all liaisons)

/p/ in some isolated cases (less than 1% of all liaisons)

/v/ in words ending in f  (less than 1% of all liaisons)

 Examples

Obligatory liaison (Liaison obligatoire)

a. Between the subject pronoun and a verb that begins with a vowel or a silent ‘h’.
Ex: nous‿avons [nuzav], vous‿avez [vuzave], ils‿ont [ilz], elles‿ont [εlz], Elle habite [εlabit] etc.

 Notice the difference:

      Singuler                      plural

elle aime [εlεm]               elles‿aiment [εlzεm]

il habite   [ilabit]              ils‿habitent  [ilzabit]

 b. Between the article and the noun.
Ex: les‿amis [lezami], les‿affaires [lezafεr]

c. Between the adjective and the noun when the adjective is placed before the noun.
Ex: un petit‿ami [ pǝtitami], deux‿amis [døzami], de belles‿étoiles [dǝ bεlzetwal], ses‿enfants [sezãfã], ces‿amis [sezami] etc.

d. With words ending in ‘d, the ‘d’ gives a [t] sound.
Ex: un grand‿ami [ grantami], un grand‿homme [ grantɔm], quand‿on [kãt] etc.

e. ‘Neuf’ in a liaison gives a [v] sound.
Ex: Il est neuf‿heures [ilε nœvœr]. Elle a neuf‿ans [εla nœvã]

f. Between the preposition and the article or the noun.
Ex: dans‿une minute [dãzyn minyt], en‿Italie [anitali], aux‿Émirats [ozemira].

g.  Between the adverb and the adjective.
Ex: C’est très‿intéressant [sε trεzterεsã]

h. In certain fixed expressions.

avant-hier                                          [avãtjεr]

c'est-à-dire                                       [sεtadir]

de temps en temps                         [dǝ tãzãtã]

plus ou moins                                   [plyzumw]

un sous-entendu                             [ suzãtãdy]

tout à coup                                         [tutaku]

tout à l'heure                                    [tutalœr]

 

Les liaisons interdites (Forbidden liaisons)

1. After et.
Ex: Ils ont une fille et//un garcon [ilz yn fij e  gars]

Note that liaison can be done before ‘et’.
Ex: Vous‿et moi avons de la chance [vuzemwa av dǝ la ʃãs]

2. After the verb
Example:
a.  Elle écrit//une lettre à Lili [εlekri yn lεtr a lili]

b.  Il part //avec sa copine [il par avεk sa kopin]

3. A singular noun + Adjective
Examples:
a. C'est un étudiant//intelligent [sεtœnetydjã teliʒã].

b. C'est du courrier//urgent [sε dy kurje yrʒã].

4. Before an aspirated h
Note that liaison can be done with the silent h. An aspirated h is a suppressed h. It is as if the h was being swallowed.

Examples: des//héros [de ero]; le//haricot [lǝ ariko]; la honte [la t]; le//haut [lǝ o]; le//handball [lǝ ãdbal] etc.

5. Subject (other than subject pronoun) + verb

    Examples:

a.  Le train//arrive demain    [lǝ tr ariv dǝm]

b. Le chat//avale l’os            [lǝ ʃa aval lɔs].

c. Quelqu'un//est entré          [kεlk εtãtre]

 6. After QUAND, COMMENT, COMBIEN.

a. Quand + inversion: Quand//est-il arrivé? [kã εtil arive]

b. Comment//est-il venu? [kɔmã εtil vǝny]

c. Comment//il est venu? [kɔmã ilε vǝny]

d. Combien//en voulez-vous? [kbj ã vulevu]

[ NB: ‘//’ imples no liaison can be done ]

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          WEEK-ENDING 30/10/2020. 

TOPIC: Afua fait les courses (grammaire): Les expressions de quantité  (expressions of quantity). 

References:  

(1) A New Practical French Book 2, Page 1;  

(2) French Syllabus For JHS 1 – 3, Page 31

OBJECTIVES:  

By the end of the lesson, the learner will be able to: • recognize and use expressions of fixed (specific) quantity 

• recognize and use adverbs of quantity

Introduction: In our previous lesson, we came across expressions such as: 

(i) Une bouteille d’huile = a bottle of oil 

(ii) Une boîte de sardines = a tin of sardines 

(iii) Un paquet de sucre = a packet of sugar 

(iv) Un kilo de viande = a kilo of meat 

These expressions are called “les expressions de quantité définie” (expressions of fixed or specific  quantity).  

In addition to these expressions, there are also another group of expressions of quantity known as  “adverbs of quantity”, which obey the same grammatical rule as the expressions of fixed quantity. These  expressions of quantity are always followed by de or d’ even if the noun they precede (come before) is in  the plural form. Other expressions of fixed quantity as well as adverbs of quantity are tabulated in the  next slides. 

OTHER EXPRESSIONS OF FIXED QUANTITYQUANTITY

TRANSCRIPTION MEANING Un sac de/d’ [ sak dǝ ] a bag of  

Un sachet de/d’ [ saʃε dǝ] a sachet of Une boîte de/d’ [yn bwat dǝ] a tin of/ a box of Un plateau de/d’ [ plato dǝ] a crate of (eggs) Un casier de/d’ [ kazje dǝ] a crate of (drinks) Un régime de/d’ [ reʒim dǝ] a bunch of (bananas) Une tranche de/d’ [yn trãʃ dǝ] a slice of Une livre de/d’ [yn livr dǝ] a pound (lb) of etc. 

QUANTITY TRANSCRIPTION MEANING Une bouchée/gorgée de/d’ [yn buʃe/gɔrʒ dǝ] a mouthful of Une tasse de/d’ [yn tas dǝ] a cup of Un verre de/d’ [ vεr dǝ] a glass of Un litre de/d’ [ litr dǝ] a litre of Une douzaine de/d’ [yn duzεn dǝ] a dozen of Un carton de/d’ [ kart dǝ] a carton of Une canette de/d’ [yn kanεt dǝ] a can of Un morceau de/d’ [ mɔrso dǝ] a piece of Une cuillerie de/d’ [yn kɥijεri dǝ] a spoonful of  Un panier de/d’ [ panje dǝ] a basket of etc.

ADVERBS OF QUANTITY 

QUANTITY TRANSCRIPTION MEANING Assez de/d’ [ase dǝ] enough of Autant de/d’ [otã dǝ] as much as, as many as Beaucoup de/d’ [boku dǝ] a lot of Combien de/d’ [kbj dǝ] how much of, how many of Moins de/d’ [mw dǝ] less, fewer (than) Pas mal de/d’ [pa mal dǝ] quite a lot of Peu de/d’ [pø dǝ] little of, few of Plein (adj.) de/d’ [pl dǝ] lots of, a lot of Plus de/d’ [ply dǝ] more of (than) Tant de/d’ [tã dǝ] so much of, so many of Tellement de/d’ [tεlmã dǝ] so much of, so many of Trop de/d’ [tro dǝ] too much of, too many of

SOME EXAMPLES OF THE USAGE OF THE QUANTITIES 

POSITIVE EXPRESSION CONTAINING PARTITIVE ARTICLE FIXED OR ADVERB OF QUANTITY Il mange du fromage (cheese). Il mange beaucoup de fromage. Elle a de l’argent. Elle a trop d’argent. 

Il y avait des gens à la réunion. Il n’y avait pas mal de gens à la réunion. Nous mangeons de la confiture (jam). Nous mangeons un pot de confiture. Kofi mange de la banane. Kofi mange un régime de banane. Elle achète des œufs. Elle achète un plateau d’ œufs. Yvonne boit de l’eau. Yvonne boit un verre d’eau. Mon frère et moi, nous avons des voitures. Mon frère a plus de voitures que moi.