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Orthography
Objective: Apply French rhythm and stress patterns, distinguish statements from questions by intonation, and avoid the syllable-level stress of English.
| Phrase | Rhythm groups | Stressed syllables |
|---|---|---|
| Je vais au marché. | 1 | ché |
| Elle est très intelligente. | 1 | gente |
| Il travaille à Paris. | 1 | ris |
| Nous sommes arrivés hier soir. | 1 | soir |
| Bonjour, comment allez-vous ? | 2 | jour, vous |
| Un café, s'il vous plaît. | 2 | café, plaît |
French places stress on the last syllable of a rhythm group and gives every other syllable the same weight, while English stresses individual words.
Rhythm groups hold their syllables together without pauses, and a break in the middle of a group sounds like a hesitation rather than natural speech.
The sentence forms a single rhythm group, stressed on the final syllable ché.
The phrase forms one rhythm group, with the stress on the final syllable gente.
The sentence forms one rhythm group, stressed on the final syllable ris.
The rising intonation on viens turns the statement into a question without changing the word order.
The rise appears on the very last syllable of the final group, nous, and the earlier syllables stay level.
6 exercises · about 9 minutes
The same words form a statement with falling intonation and a question with rising intonation, since the word order does not change in this pattern.
Exclamations widen the pitch range and often start higher, so the whole phrase carries more emotional weight than a neutral statement.
The exclamation widens the pitch range and produces a sharper fall on the final syllable of magnifique.
The greeting forms one rhythm group, and the question forms another. The pitch rises on the final vous.
The request forms two rhythm groups, Un café and s'il vous plaît, each with a light fall on its final syllable.