Phrasebook
French phrase stress: café phrases with clear group endings
Practise French phrase stress through café requests. Follow the last full syllable as a phrase grows, then try the lines with their English hidden.
- A2
- 12 phrases
- 3 situations
- Learn this in the A2 notebook →
In short
In an ordinary French speech group, prominence usually falls on the last full syllable. As you extend un café to un café noir, that ending moves from -fé to noir. Let the small words lead into the ending.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
| Phrase | Prominent ending | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| un café | -fé | a coffee |
| un café noir | noir | a black coffee |
| un café noir sans sucre | sucre | a black coffee without sugar |
| un verre d’eau | eau | a glass of water |
| de la confiture d’abricot | -cot | apricot jam |
Give the ending a little room. In sans sucre, the final full syllable is the one containing the vowel of sucre. The written final e usually stays silent in this model. Prominence can come from length and pitch; it need not sound like a hard punch.
A short order
Say the complete request in two comfortable groups: the drink, then the courtesy phrase.
Add something to eat
Keep each quantity and its contents connected.
Finish the order
Four things in the order
Find:
Where does the stress fall in a French phrase?
Un café NOIR, s’il vous plaît.
A BLACK coffee, please.
The capitals mark the detail being corrected. Contrast can bring extra prominence to a word earlier in a longer request.