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Silent Letters and Final Consonants

FoundationHigherAQA

Revise Silent Letters and Final Consonants 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). Most final consonants and the final e are silent in French.

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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 words often end in letters that are not pronounced, and knowing which are silent is essential for both speaking and listening.

Most final consonants are silent: petit, grand, vous, français. The final s of a plural is silent, and so are the verb endings -e, -es and -ent.

The main exceptions are c, r, f and l, which are usually sounded — remembered by the word CaReFuL. So avec, hiver, neuf and mal all sound their final letter. But -er at the end of a verb infinitive is an exception to the exception: parler ends in an ay sound, not an r.

Revision notes

Silent final consonants

Most are silent: petit, grand, vous, français, temps.

The plural -s is silent, and so are the verb endings -e, -es and -ent. This is why parle, parles and parlent all sound identical.

The CaReFuL letters

C, r, f and l are usually pronounced at the end of a word.

Avec, hiver, neuf, mal, sac, bonjour. The mnemonic CaReFuL contains all four consonants in order.

The -er exception

A verb infinitive ending in -er does not sound the r.

Parler, manger and aller all end in an ay sound. This overrides the CaReFuL rule, and it applies to the largest group of verbs in the language.

Key points

  • Most final consonants are silent.
  • The plural -s is silent.
  • Verb endings -e, -es and -ent are silent.
  • C, r, f and l are usually sounded.
  • The mnemonic is CaReFuL.
  • Verb infinitives in -er do not sound the r.

Worked examples

Example 1

State whether the final t in petit is pronounced. [2 marks]

Working

It is silentstate the pronunciation
Most final consonants in French are not pronouncedexplain the rule

Example 2

Name the four consonants usually sounded at the end of a word. [2 marks]

Working

C, r, f and lname the four letters
They are remembered by the mnemonic CaReFuLgive the memory aid

Example 3

Explain why the r in parler is not pronounced. [2 marks]

Working

Parler is a verb infinitive ending in -erstate the reason
This overrides the CaReFuL rule, so the word ends in an ay soundexplain the exception

Common mistakes

  • Sounding every final consonant.

    Most are silent.

  • Sounding the r in an -er infinitive.

    It ends in an ay sound.

  • Pronouncing the plural -s.

    It is always silent.

  • Forgetting the CaReFuL exceptions.

    Those four letters are usually sounded.

Exam tips

  • Leave most final consonants silent.
  • Learn CaReFuL for the exceptions.
  • Remember -er infinitives override it.
  • Listen to the article to hear a plural.

Key terms

Silent letter
A letter written but not pronounced.
CaReFuL
A mnemonic for the sounded final consonants.
Final consonant
The last letter of a word, usually silent.
Infinitive ending
-er, which does not sound its r.

Related topics

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