Comprehensible speech has a steady rhythm, clear sounds and correct links between words. This lesson shows how to practise a whole phrase at a speed you control, so that accuracy comes first and speed follows.
It belongs to sound, spelling and intelligibility and uses the patterns from the first lesson.
Why does French rhythm differ from English?
English stresses some syllables strongly and shortens others. French spreads weight more evenly, and the main stress falls on the last syllable of a group of words. If you stress every word the way you do in English, a French listener loses the groups.
French also joins words.
A final consonant that is silent alone can be heard when the next word begins with a vowel. This is called liaison. A consonant at the end can also move onto the next vowel, called enchaînement, so “un examen” is said as a smooth run.
How do I practise a phrase step by step?
- Understand it. Know what the phrase means, so that you place the pauses sensibly.
- Cut it into groups of two to four syllables.
- Say it slowly, one group at a time, giving every sound its full shape.
- Build from the end: say the last group, then add the one before it, then the one before that.
- Add the links (liaison and enchaînement) in the groups where they occur.
- Raise the speed in steps, from slow, to medium, to natural.
- Record the natural version and listen to it.
Worked example
Phrase: Nous avons un examen à huit heures. (We have an exam at eight o’clock.)
Groups: Nous avons / un examen / à huit heures.
Links:
- Nous avons: the s of nous is sounded as z and joins avons.
- Avons un: no link. Say avons then un.
- Un examen: the n joins the vowel of examen, so it sounds like “un-nexamen”.
- À huit heures: the t of huit joins heures.
Stress: the end of each group lifts slightly: avons, examen, heures.
Speed ladder:
- Slow: every group separate, links included.
- Medium: short pause only between groups.
- Natural: no pauses at all inside a group.
Move up a step only when the previous step is clear on your recording.
The mistake to watch for
Learners often speak each word on its own.
Mistaken version: “Nous… avons… un… examen… à… huit… heures,” with a pause and equal stress on every word.
The words are correct but the listener cannot hear the groups, so comprehension drops.
The correction is to read groups, not words. Say “Nousavons” as one flow, with the z link, and keep a pause only between groups.
Another frequent error is to link too much, adding a liaison between avons and un. Learn each link inside whole phrases like this one.
Check yourself
1. Mark the two required liaisons in “Ils ont deux amis.”
Show answer
Ils ont: s sounds like z, giving “il-zont”. Deux amis: x sounds like z, giving “deu-zami”.
2. Cut “Je voudrais un café, s’il vous plaît.” into groups and say where each group lifts.
Show answer
Je voudrais / un café / s’il vous plaît. The groups lift on the last syllable: voudrais, café, plaît.
3. On your recording you drop sounds when you speed up. What should you do?
Show answer
Go back to the previous speed on the ladder, where every sound is clear, and repeat it three times. Then step up again. Clarity is the target, not speed.
Where this leads next
When you can say a phrase clearly at a natural pace, learn how to judge a recording honestly in self-reviewing pronunciation without an automatic accent score. The integrated practice set tests chunking and links as well.
Our teachers use short phrases like this one when they run online one-to-one French tuition, adding challenge only when the speaker is ready.