Accent marks: é, è, ê, ë, ç and their pronunciation effects
Can correctly write and read French accent marks
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
J'ai réservé une table au café.
I reserved a table at the café.
Ma mère achète du fromage français.
My mother buys French cheese.
Il va à la fête de Noël.
He goes to the Christmas party.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Le français utilise cinq signes diacritiques qui changent la prononciation ou distinguent des mots :
| Accent | Nom | Effet | Exemples |
|---|---|---|---|
| é | accent aigu | son fermé [e] | café, étudiant |
| è, ê | accent grave / circonflexe | son ouvert [ɛ] | mère, fête |
| ë, ï | tréma | voyelles séparées | Noël, naïf |
| ç | cédille | c → [s] devant a, o, u | français, garçon |
| à, ù | accent grave | distingue des mots | à (to) vs a (has) |
Règle clé : Sans cédille, le C devant a, o, u se prononce [k] : café [kafe]. Avec cédille, ç se prononce toujours [s] : français [fʁɑ̃sɛ].
L'accent circonflexe (ê, â, ô) indique souvent un ancien 's' disparu : fête ← feste, hôpital ← hospital.
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesMissing accent mark on a word that requires one
Check: é (closed e), è/ê (open e), ç (soft c before a/o/u), à/où (grammatical distinction).
Wrong accent type (é vs è, etc.)
é = closed [e] (like 'ay'), è/ê = open [ɛ] (like 'eh'). Learn common words by sight.
J'ai réservé une table au café.
I reserved a table at the café.
The é (accent aigu) in réservé gives the closed [e] sound. The é in café is also [e].
Ma mère achète du fromage français.
My mother buys French cheese.
The è in mère and achète gives the open [ɛ] sound. The ç in français makes the [s] sound before 'a'.
Il va à la fête de Noël.
He goes to the Christmas party.
à (with accent) means 'to/at' — distinct from a (has). The ê in fête and ë in Noël show diacritics in action.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises