Petit ami, grand arbre: French adjective–noun liaison
Practise the linking /t/ in petit ami and grand arbre with IPA examples. Compare singular and plural phrases, h aspiré and the pronounced t in petite.
In short
Before a noun beginning with a vowel sound, petit links with /t/: petit ami /pə.ti.ta.mi/. Grand also links with /t/, even though it ends in written d: grand arbre /ɡʁɑ̃.taʁbʁ/. Say the consonant as the start of the next syllable.
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Is there liaison between an adjective and a noun in French?
| French phrase | Meaning | Pronunciation | Linking sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| petit chat | small cat | /pə.ti ʃa/ | None |
| petit ami | boyfriend | /pə.ti.ta.mi/ | /t/ |
| petit enfant | small child | /pə.ti.tɑ̃.fɑ̃/ | /t/ |
| grand arbre | large tree | /ɡʁɑ̃.taʁbʁ/ | /t/ |
Le petit ami de Nora habite près d’un grand arbre.
Nora’s boyfriend lives near a large tree.
Read the two groups smoothly: petit‿ami, grand‿arbre. The symbol ‿ marks the connection; ordinary spelling stays unchanged.
In petit chat, the final written t is silent. In petit ami, it supplies the /t/ at the start of the next syllable. Keep the meaning with the sound: un petit ami usually means a boyfriend. For a size description, use un petit appartement (a small flat) or un petit enfant (a small child).
How does liaison work with plural adjectives?
| Singular | Plural | Plural pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| un petit ami | des petits amis | /de pə.ti.za.mi/ |
| un grand arbre | de grands arbres | /də ɡʁɑ̃.zaʁbʁ/ |
The plural s supplies /z/ in petits amis and grands arbres. Keep the nasal vowel of grand in both grand arbre and grands arbres. In the second row, des becomes de before the plural adjective: de grands arbres.
When is there no liaison in French?
Un grand héros entre dans la salle.
A great hero enters the room.
Héros has an h aspiré, which blocks liaison: say grand | héros, with no linking /t/. The h itself is silent.
Sa petite amie arrive.
His or her girlfriend is arriving.
The /t/ of petite is already pronounced, as in petite maison. Joining it to amie is enchaînement: /pə.ti.ta.mi/.
Now change the word order: un jardin immense (an enormous garden). A singular noun before an adjective stays separate at this boundary: no /n/ links jardin to immense. The pattern on this page concerns an adjective placed before its noun.