This introduction covers La famille du son «é» — One Letter, Five Sounds within The é, -er, -ez sound family for GCSE French. Revise The é, -er, -ez sound family in Phonics: French Sounds and Spellings for GCSE French with 10 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 1 of 4 in this topic. Use this introduction to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
🔊 La famille du son «é» — One Letter, Five Sounds
The letter e is the most versatile — and most treacherous — vowel in French. Depending on its accent, its position in the word, or what comes after it, it can make at least five distinct sounds. The good news? There's a pattern. The -er ending you use constantly on verbs (parler, manger, regarder) always makes a clean «ay» sound — identical to é. Master the é vs. è contrast and you'll nail the most visible phonics challenge on the AQA Read-Aloud.
Practice questions for The é, -er, -ez sound family
Which statement is TRUE about the spellings é, -er (infinitive ending), and -ez (vous ending) in French?
How is the word 'le marché' pronounced?
Quick recall flashcards
le bébé — identify the sounds
'bay-BAY' — two é sounds giving the closed 'AY' twice. A true cognate with English 'baby'.
le café — identify the é sound
'ka-FAY' — the final é gives the closed 'AY' sound. Both syllables end cleanly. 'Café' is a true cognate — same word in English.