This exam tips covers Read-Aloud Tips & Common Errors within Silent letters and final consonants (including -ent) for GCSE French. Revise Silent letters and final consonants (including -ent) 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 4 of 4 in this topic. Treat this as a marking guide for what examiners are looking for, not just a fact list.
💡 Read-Aloud Tips & Common Errors
- Before your Read-Aloud, scan the text for any ils/elles + verb combinations — the -ent ending is silent every single time, no exceptions.
- Look for liaison opportunities: les / des / mes / tes / ses + vowel will always require linking the [z] sound.
- The word et (and) does NOT trigger liaison — «et une amie» is [e yn ami], not [e tyn ami].
- The h aspiré in words like «le hibou», «la honte» blocks liaison: «les hiboux» = [le ibu], not [le zibu].
- Practise reading aloud with a pencil: mark every final consonant as S (silent) or P (pronounced) before you speak.
❌ Common error: Reading «ils parlent» as "eel par-LENT" (pronouncing the -ent).
✓ Correct: [il paʁl] — the -ent adds no sound at all. It sounds identical to «il parle».
Why it costs marks: The AQA examiner's mark scheme for Paper 2 Read-Aloud specifically penalises mispronounced verb endings. Pronouncing the -ent is one of the most frequently flagged errors — it immediately signals that the student has not internalised French phonology, and it will reduce your pronunciation mark even if every other word is correct.
Practice questions for Silent letters and final consonants (including -ent)
Which group of letters is almost NEVER pronounced at the end of a French word?
The memory aid 'CaReFuL' helps you remember which final consonants ARE pronounced. Which answer correctly lists these letters?