Gap-fill
French in, ain and ein: practise the nasal vowel in a lunch story
Meet /ɛ̃/ in vin, pain and plein, compare fin with fine, then complete a French lunch story with eight gaps and picture clues.
- A1
- 8 gaps
- Translation included
- Learn this in the A1 notebook →
In short
Vin /vɛ̃/, pain /pɛ̃/ and plein /plɛ̃/ share the nasal vowel /ɛ̃/. The spellings differ, but none of these words ends in a separate /n/. Use the table and pictures, then complete the lunch story.
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| Spelling | Word | Short phrase |
|---|---|---|
| in | vin /vɛ̃/ | du vin |
| ain | pain /pɛ̃/ | du pain |
| ein | plein /plɛ̃/ | le panier est plein |
| in | cousin /kuzɛ̃/ | mon cousin |
| in | jardin /ʒaʁdɛ̃/ | un grand jardin |
How do you pronounce in, ain and ein in French?
Air passes through the mouth and nose during /ɛ̃/. Keep one continuous vowel in pain, rather than ending with an English-style /n/. The tilde over the IPA vowel marks nasalisation. The n belongs to the spelling that tells you which vowel to use.
fin /fɛ̃/fine, thin: masculine
Focus: A nasal vowel with no final /n/.
Le fil est fin.
The thread is thin.
fine /fin/fine, thin: feminine
Focus: An oral /i/ followed by /n/.
La tranche est fine.
The slice is thin.
A following vowel or doubled n can change the pattern. Compare fin /fɛ̃/ with fine /fin/, and pain /pɛ̃/ with peine /pɛn/. For these word endings, keep the complete spelling in view. The tiny final e makes a real difference.
Picture words for the story
Find:
Mon cousin va bien.
My cousin is well.
Bien is /bjɛ̃/: the /j/ glide comes before the same nasal vowel. Lieu /ljø/ has an oral vowel and belongs to a different sound group.
In the story, each English hint gives the missing word’s meaning. Keep the French article already printed before the gap: mon calls for a masculine person, while du introduces an amount of food or drink. Read each completed sentence aloud and carry the nasal vowel through to the end of its word.
Un déjeuner chez mon cousin
Ce matin, je vais chez mon (male cousin). Il habite près d’un grand (garden). Je sonne à la porte. « Entre, le déjeuner est presque prêt ! »
Sur la table, il y a du (bread), du fromage et une bouteille de (wine). Le panier est (full). Mon cousin apporte aussi une salade et des tomates.
Dans le jardin, un (rabbit) mange une carotte. Je m’assieds sur un (cushion) près de la fenêtre. « Tout va (well) ? » demande mon cousin. « Oui, merci ! Et toi ? » Nous commençons à manger.
Read it in English
This morning, I’m going to my cousin’s. He lives near a large garden. I ring the bell. “Come in, lunch is almost ready!”
On the table, there is bread, cheese and a bottle of wine. The basket is full. My cousin also brings a salad and some tomatoes.
In the garden, a rabbit is eating a carrot. I sit on a cushion near the window. “Is everything all right?” my cousin asks. “Yes, thank you! And you?” We start eating.