This deep dive covers The Silent-Final Rule — and When It Breaks 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 2 of 4 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
📖 The Silent-Final Rule — and When It Breaks
Rule 1: Final consonants are usually silent
In French, when a word ends in a consonant, that consonant is almost always silent in natural speech. This applies to d, t, s, x, z, p, g at the end of a word.
| Word | Spelling | Pronunciation (IPA) | What's silent |
|---|---|---|---|
| big (tall) | grand | [ɡʁɑ̃] | the d |
| small | petit | [pəti] | the t |
| hot | chaud | [ʃo] | the d |
| cold | froid | [fʁwa] | the d |
| high / tall | haut | [o] | the h and t |
| too much | trop | [tʁo] | the p |
| long | long | [lɔ̃] | the g |
Rule 2: The -ent verb ending is ALWAYS silent
This is the most important rule for AQA Paper 2 Read-Aloud. The third-person plural verb ending -ent (ils/elles) is always silent — it adds no sound whatsoever. The verb sounds exactly the same as the il/elle form.
| Written form | Sounds like | NOT like |
|---|---|---|
| ils parlent | [il paʁl] — like «il parle» | "parl-ENT" |
| elles mangent | [ɛl mɑ̃ʒ] — like «elle mange» | "man-ZHENT" |
| ils font | [il fɔ̃] | "fon-T" |
| elles viennent | [ɛl vjɛn] | "vyen-ENT" |
⚠️ Exceptions — final consonants that ARE pronounced
A small group of common words have a pronounced final consonant. Remember them with CaReFuL (C, R, F, L are the consonants most likely to be pronounced at the end of a word):
| Word | Meaning | Final consonant |
|---|---|---|
| cher | dear / expensive | -r pronounced [ʁ] |
| le chef | the chef / the boss | -f pronounced [f] |
| le fils | the son | -s pronounced [s] |
| le bus | the bus | -s pronounced [s] |
| net | clear / clean | -t pronounced [t] |
| sec | dry | -c pronounced [k] |
Rule 3: Liaison — silent consonants that wake up before vowels
When a word ending in a normally-silent consonant is followed by a word starting with a vowel (or silent h), the consonant is pronounced and links to the next word. This is called liaison.
| Written | Pronounced | Note |
|---|---|---|
| les enfants | [le zɑ̃fɑ̃] | the -s links as [z] |
| vous avez | [vu zavɛ] | the -s links as [z] |
| mon ami | [mɔ̃ nami] | the -n links |
| un petit ami | [œ̃ pəti tami] | -t of petit links before vowel |
| ils ont | [il zɔ̃] | -s of ils links as [z] |
Liaison rule of thumb: s and x in liaison both sound like [z]. The linking consonant always belongs to the second syllable, not the first.
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?