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French homograph quiz: ils couvent au couvent and other context clues

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Use grammatical context in ten French homograph questions to choose the meaning and pronunciation of couvent, fils, est, plus and as.

In short

Identical spellings can hide different sounds: ils couvent ends in /kuv/, while au couvent ends in /kuvɑ̃/. Identify the word’s job first: a subject can point to a verb, a determiner to a noun, and a negative structure to a particular reading of plus.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

A bird broods in a nest in a convent garden.
The birds couvent in the garden of a couvent. Illustration: Atelier

Les oiseaux couvent dans le jardin du couvent.

The birds are brooding in the convent garden.

Five contrasts to study first
SpellingFirst readingSecond reading
couventils couvent /kuv/ — they broodle couvent /kuvɑ̃/ — convent
filsmon fils /fis/ — my sondes fils /fil/ — threads
estil est /ɛ/ — he isl’est /ɛst/ — east
plusne… plus /ply/ — no longerdeux plus deux /plys/ — two plus two
astu as /a/ — you haveun as /as/ — an ace

Picture the noun readings

IPA symbols between slashes represent sounds. These questions test reading and grammatical interpretation. The [Larousse entries for couvent](https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/couvent/20039), [fils](https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/college/fils/16523) and [fil](https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/fil/33669) identify the noun meanings used here.

  1. Question 1No account needed
    Read the first couvent.Les oiseaux couvent près du couvent.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    /kuv/ — they brood. The plural subject les oiseaux needs a conjugated verb. The present plural ending -ent is silent in couvent.

  2. Question 2No account needed
    Read the word after du.Les oiseaux couvent près du couvent.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    /kuvɑ̃/ — a convent. Du introduces the noun couvent. Its written -ent contains the nasal vowel /ɑ̃/ here, unlike the verb ending.

  3. Question 3No account needed
    Read fils in this family context.Son fils joue du violon.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    /fis/ — son. The possessive and family meaning identify fils, son. The final /s/ is pronounced and the written l is silent.

  4. Question 4No account needed
    Read fils in this sewing context.Elle coupe les fils qui dépassent.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    /fil/ — threads. These are protruding threads, the plural of fil. The l is pronounced; the plural s is silent.

  5. Question 5No account needed
    Read est as the verb.Il est prêt à répondre.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    /ɛ/ — is. Between the subject il and the adjective prêt, est is a form of être. The written st is silent.

  6. Question 6No account needed
    Read est as a direction.Le soleil se lève à l’est.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    /ɛst/ — east. The preposition and article in à l’est introduce a direction noun. Its final /st/ is pronounced.

  7. Question 7No account needed
    Read plus in the full negative structure.Elle ne travaille plus dans ce service.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    /ply/ — no longer. Ne… plus means no longer. Before the consonant in dans, negative plus is pronounced /ply/, with a silent s.

  8. Question 8No account needed
    Read the arithmetic operator.Deux plus deux font quatre.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    /plys/ — plus. In addition, plus is pronounced /plys/. The mathematical structure fixes its function.

  9. Question 9No account needed
    Read as after tu.Tu as raison sur ce point.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    /a/ — have. After tu, as is the present of avoir. Before the consonant in raison, its written s is silent.

  10. Question 10No account needed
    Read as after the determiner.Elle a tiré un as.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    /as/ — an ace. The determiner un introduces the playing-card noun as, whose final /s/ is pronounced.

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