French elision: when le becomes l’
Vocalyra teaching team · Last updated:
French frequently drops a short unstressed vowel before a following vowel sound and writes an apostrophe: le ami becomes l’ami, not *le ami. English speakers may recognize a similar flow in speech, but French makes the change part of the spelling. Elision is not the same as liaison, where a normally silent consonant is linked to the next word. Here you will learn which common small words change, how silent h behaves, and where the rule deliberately stops.
The everyday words that lose a vowel
Before a vowel sound, le and la become l’: l’ami, l’école. Je becomes j’ in j’aime; ne becomes n’ in je n’habite pas ici; de becomes d’ in un verre d’eau; que becomes qu’ in je pense qu’il arrive. The original article or pronoun still has the same grammatical role. The apostrophe is not an optional decoration; *je aime and *le ami are not standard written French. Start by recognizing the original two words behind each contracted form.
Silent h and aspirated h are different
French h is generally not pronounced, but dictionaries distinguish h muet from h aspiré. H muet permits elision: l’homme, l’histoire, j’habite. H aspiré blocks it: le héros, la honte, le haricot. Do not pronounce an English h in le héros; the distinction is about whether French permits word joining. There is no reliable visual rule that tells you which h words belong to which class. Learn frequent exceptions with their articles, and consult a pronunciation dictionary for unfamiliar words.
Elision is not liaison
Compare l’ami (elision: the vowel of le disappears) with les amis (liaison: the final s is commonly pronounced /z/ before amis). In les amis, the e of les remains, and there is no apostrophe. In l’ami, the written e has vanished. The distinction also helps with vous avez, where the final s may link to avez, but vous is never written *v’avez. Many beginners overgeneralize apostrophes because connected French sounds fast. Ask whether a vowel disappears from a listed small word or a consonant is simply linked.
The special case of si
Si usually stays si: si elle vient. It elides before il and ils in standard French: s’il vient, s’ils viennent. It does not generally become *s’elle. This small exception is worth learning as a complete phrase because English if does not change its spelling before pronouns. Compare s’il pleut, nous resterons ici with si elle appelle, je répondrai. Both mean if in these sentences; the following pronoun determines the written form.
Do not elide every vowel at a word boundary
Tu arrives is normally written with two words, not *t’arrives in standard formal writing; informal messages sometimes use shortened speech spellings, but they are not the baseline grammar. Likewise, the article une does not become *un’ before a vowel: une amie. Most two-word vowel sequences do not take an apostrophe. French elision belongs to a defined set of short words and constructions. If you are uncertain, write the full grammatical sentence first, then apply only the familiar elisions.
A practical dialogue and self-check
At a reception desk: J’ai une réservation. L’hôtel est près de l’école. Est-ce qu’il y a un ascenseur ? Notice j’ai, l’hôtel, l’école and qu’il. Hôtel has h muet, so l’hôtel is correct; the phrase une réservation does not require elision. Read the dialogue slowly and restore each missing vowel in your notes: j’ai = je + ai, l’hôtel = le + hôtel. Then write two new sentences with de and ne before vowels. This turns apostrophe recognition into accurate production.
Illustrative examples
| Example | Explanation |
|---|---|
| l'ami | le + ami becomes l'ami |
| j'aime | je + aime becomes j'aime |
| l'école | la + école becomes l'école |
| le héros | H aspiré blocks elision |
Quick self-check
Correct: le ami.
Show answer
l’ami.
Correct: je aime.
Show answer
j’aime.
Write le + homme.
Show answer
l’homme.
Write le + héros.
Show answer
le héros; h aspiré blocks elision.
Correct: si il vient.
Show answer
s’il vient.
Can si elle become s’elle in standard French?
Show answer
No; si elle.
Is les amis an example of elision?
Show answer
No; it can involve liaison.
Correct: ne habite pas.
Show answer
n’habite pas.