Spot the mistake: accents that change the meaning
ou or où, a or à, sur or sûr, du or dû, la or là: tap the word with the wrong (or missing) accent in eight sentences where the accent changes everything.
- A2
- 8 sentences
- Tap the wrong word
- Learn this in the A2 notebook →
In short
Some French accents distinguish words that sound the same: ou (or) / où (where), a (has) / à (to, at), la (the) / là (there), sur (on) / sûr (sure), du (some) / dû (owed, past participle of devoir). Leaving them out changes the meaning.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
Tap the word that's wrong in each sentence.
Where are you going tonight?
Où = where.
He lives in Marseille.
À = in / to.
I'm sure he'll come.
Sûr = sure.
Put the book there, on the table.
Là = there.
He had to leave earlier.
Dû: past participle of devoir.
Tea or coffee?
Ou = or, no accent.
She has three children.
A = has (avoir).
This fruit isn't ripe yet.
Mûr = ripe; mur = wall.
Which French accents change the meaning?
| Without | With |
|---|---|
| ou (or) | où (where) |
| a (has) | à (to, at) |
| la (the) | là (there) |
| sur (on) | sûr (sure) |
| du (some) | dû (owed, had to) |
| mur (wall) | mûr (ripe) |
The grave accent on à, là, où and the circumflex on sûr, dû, mûr are distinguishing accents: they don't change the sound but tell the reader which word it is. Où is the only French word with the letter ù. On a phone keyboard, hold the vowel to get the accent.
- Ami
Tu es où ? On est à la gare.
Where are you? We're at the station.
- Toi
J'arrive ! Vous êtes sûrs que c'est le quai 3 ?
Coming! Are you sure it's platform 3?
- Ami
Oui, on est là, à côté du café.
Yes, we're here, next to the café.