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Liaison and Linking Sounds

FoundationHigherAQA

Understand Liaison and Linking 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). A normally silent final consonant is pronounced when the next word begins with a vowel.

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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

Liaison is the linking of a normally silent final consonant to a following vowel, and it is what makes spoken French flow.

Normally the s of les is silent. But in les amis it links to the vowel and is pronounced as a z: lezami. The same happens in nous avons, vous êtes and deux enfants.

Liaison is compulsory in certain places: after an article or adjective before its noun, after a subject pronoun before a verb, and after short prepositions such as en and dans. It is forbidden after et — et alors never links. Recognising liaison matters for listening, because word boundaries disappear and les amis sounds like a single word.

Revision notes

What liaison is

A normally silent final consonant links to a following vowel.

The s of les is silent in les livres, but sounds as a z in les amis. The same applies to nous avons, vous êtes, deux enfants, un grand homme.

When it is compulsory

After an article or adjective before its noun: les amis, un grand homme.

After a subject pronoun before a verb: nous avons, ils ont. After short prepositions: en avion, dans un magasin.

When it is forbidden

Never after et: et alors does not link.

Never before an aspirate h: les héros does not link. These two prohibitions are worth knowing because breaking them sounds distinctly wrong.

Key points

  • Liaison links a silent consonant to a vowel.
  • The s of les sounds as a z in les amis.
  • It is compulsory after articles and adjectives.
  • It is compulsory after subject pronouns.
  • It is forbidden after et.
  • It is forbidden before an aspirate h.

Worked examples

Example 1

Explain what happens to the s of les in les amis. [2 marks]

Working

It links to the following vowel and is pronouncedstate what happens
It sounds as a z, so les amis is heard as one continuous wordexplain the sound

Example 2

State one place where liaison is compulsory. [2 marks]

Working

After a subject pronoun before a verb, as in nous avonsgive the situation
The s of nous links to the vowel of avonsexplain the linking

Example 3

Explain why liaison makes listening difficult. [2 marks]

Working

The boundaries between words disappear when consonants link to vowelsstate the problem
so les amis sounds like a single word rather than twogive an example

Common mistakes

  • Failing to link where liaison is compulsory.

    Les amis must link.

  • Linking after et.

    Liaison is forbidden there.

  • Linking before an aspirate h.

    Les héros does not link.

  • Expecting word boundaries in speech.

    Liaison removes them.

Exam tips

  • Link after articles, adjectives and pronouns.
  • Never link after et.
  • Listen for merged words rather than separate ones.
  • Remember the s links as a z sound.

Key terms

Liaison
Linking a silent final consonant to a following vowel.
Compulsory liaison
Linking that must happen, as in les amis.
Forbidden liaison
Linking that must not happen, as after et.
Aspirate h
An h that blocks liaison.

Related topics

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