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French Vowel Sounds

FoundationHigherAQA

Master French Vowel Sounds for GCSE French with this free worksheet and full mark scheme — Foundation and Higher exam-style practice with worked answers for AQA GCSE French (8652). French vowels a, i, y, e, u and ou have consistent sounds that differ from English.

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These worksheets and mark schemes are original, written for Virtus Academy and checked against the current AQA specification. Every worksheet comes with a full mark scheme.

Foundation

WorksheetFoundation · PDFMark SchemeFoundation · PDF

Higher

WorksheetHigher · PDFMark SchemeHigher · PDF

Topic overview

French vowels are pronounced more purely than English ones, and each keeps a single consistent sound rather than gliding.

The letter a is always the open sound in chat, never the varied sounds of English cat, car and care. The letter i is always ee as in ici. The letter u has no English equivalent — it is made by rounding the lips as for oo while saying ee, and it appears in tu, rue and sur.

The letter e varies. Unaccented e at the end of a word is silent, as in table. Elsewhere it is a short uh sound. With an acute accent, é is a clear ay sound as in école. Getting these consistent is what makes French sound French rather than English with French words.

Revision notes

Pure vowels

Each French vowel keeps one consistent sound and does not glide.

A is always as in chat. I is always ee as in ici. O is always as in mot. English vowels change constantly; French ones do not.

The letter u

There is no English equivalent.

Round the lips as if to say oo, then say ee without moving them. This gives the sound in tu, rue, sur and vu. Substituting oo gives a different word: tu and tout are not the same.

The letter e

Unaccented e at the end of a word is silent: table, grande, parle.

Elsewhere it is a short uh sound: le, je, petit. With an acute accent, é is a clear ay sound: école, été, parlé.

Key points

  • French vowels are pure and consistent.
  • A is always as in chat.
  • I is always ee as in ici.
  • U has no English equivalent.
  • Final unaccented e is silent.
  • É is a clear ay sound.

Worked examples

Example 1

Explain how to pronounce the u in tu. [2 marks]

Working

Round the lips as if to say oodescribe the lip position
then say ee without moving themdescribe the tongue position

Example 2

State how the final e in table is pronounced. [2 marks]

Working

It is silentstate the pronunciation
An unaccented e at the end of a word is not pronounced in Frenchexplain the rule

Example 3

Explain the difference in sound between e and é. [2 marks]

Working

An unaccented e is a short uh sound, or silent at the end of a wordexplain e
An é with an acute accent is a clear ay sound, as in écoleexplain é

Common mistakes

  • Gliding French vowels like English ones.

    They stay pure and do not change during the sound.

  • Pronouncing u as oo.

    It is a distinct sound requiring rounded lips.

  • Sounding the final e.

    It is silent when unaccented.

  • Ignoring the acute accent.

    É sounds quite different from e.

Exam tips

  • Keep each vowel sound pure and unchanging.
  • Practise u by rounding the lips for oo.
  • Leave final unaccented e silent.
  • Watch for accents, which change the sound.

Key terms

Pure vowel
A vowel keeping one consistent sound.
Silent e
An unaccented final e, not pronounced.
Acute accent
The mark on é, giving an ay sound.
Glide
The English habit of changing a vowel mid-sound.

Related topics

Written and reviewed against the current AQA specification. Spotted an error? Let us know.