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Liaison after être: an 8-question French pronunciation quiz

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Check the links in vous êtes ici, je suis étudiant and nous sommes amis. Eight questions distinguish liaison, enchaînement and optional links after être.

In short

Liaison after être depends on the form and the phrase. In vous êtes ici, /z/ links vous to êtes, then the /t/ already present in êtes joins ici. In je suis étudiant, a /z/ after suis is possible, especially in careful speech, and is often absent in conversation.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

Learners greet one another at a classroom doorway.
Nous sommes amis gives liaison an everyday setting. Illustration: Atelier
Study first: look at one boundary at a time
PhraseBoundaryUseful sound cue
vous êtes icivous → êtes/z/: subject pronoun + verb
vous êtes iciêtes → ici/t/: already pronounced in êtes [ɛt]
nous sommes amissommes → amis/m/: already pronounced in sommes [sɔm]
je suis étudiantsuis → étudiantOptional /z/; style affects the choice
il est iciest → iciA linking /t/ is common

Read each question as a question about the exact phrase. Liaison brings out a normally silent consonant; enchaînement carries an existing consonant towards the next vowel. That difference explains why a smooth phrase can contain both processes. Keep the two boundaries in vous êtes ici separate as you work.

  1. Question 1No account needed
    Where does /z/ occur in the ordinary pronunciation of vous êtes ici?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Between vous and êtes. The /z/ links the subject pronoun vous to its vowel-initial verb êtes.

  2. Question 2No account needed
    What is the final consonant of êtes [ɛt] when the word is said alone?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    /t/. The /t/ is already present in êtes. It can carry on into the following vowel in ici.

  3. Question 3No account needed
    Which broad pronunciation fits vous êtes ici?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    [vu.zɛ.ti.si]. There is /z/ before êtes and /t/ before ici. The phrase needs no added /z/ after êtes.

  4. Question 4No account needed
    How does the /m/ connect in an everyday pronunciation of nous sommes amis?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    It is already in sommes and chains into amis.. Sommes already ends /m/. That existing consonant can join the first vowel of amis.

  5. Question 5No account needed
    A speaker says Je suis étudiant with no /z/ after suis. Which description fits?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    The optional liaison has been left out.. A /z/ liaison after suis is optional here. Omitting it is common in conversational speech.

  6. Question 6No account needed
    Which pair contrasts linking /t/ with a boundary that blocks liaison?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    est ici / et ici. Est ici commonly has linking /t/. The conjunction et blocks liaison before ici.

  7. Question 7No account needed
    What sound can link est to important?Le résultat est important.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    /t/. Est important commonly has /t/. The spelling of est gives no reason to add /z/.

  8. Question 8No account needed
    Which statement about vous êtes and je suis étudiant fits the table?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    The pronoun–verb /z/ is expected; the /z/ after suis is optional.. Vous êtes is a subject–verb link. After suis, the next word has a different grammatical relationship.

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