Write an article based on this "Ignore consonants at the end of words. Leave off pronouncing -ent at the end of French verbs. Memorize syllables that vary significantly from English. Flow words together to form liaisons when appropriate. Note consonants that are pronounced differently in liaisons. Place stress on the last full syllable of a word."
The final consonant on a French word is almost always silent. The only final consonants that are ever pronounced are b, c, f, k, l, q, and r, although these are not always pronounced. For example, you would not pronounce the final consonant of words such as "grand" (large), "beaucoup" (a lot, many), or "temps" (time, the weather). The letters b, k, and q are rarely the final consonant of a word. They usually appear in loanwords from other languages. Final consonants that are usually pronounced are silent if they follow a nasal consonant, such as n. For example, you would pronounce the c at the end of the word "avec" (with), but not at the end of the word "blanc" (white). An l is always pronounced at the end of a word, unless it follows an i that follows another vowel, as in the word "travail" (job). As in English, there are exceptions to every rule. If you're not sure, you're usually better off not pronouncing the final consonant. Listen to a native speaker pronounce the word, both by itself and in a sentence, to make sure. Many words in French end in -ent. The ending is usually pronounced ahn. However, when these letters are used as the plural ending for French verbs, they are silent. For example, the verb "mangent" (they eat) is pronounced mahnzhe. An -ent at the end of a noun, adjective, or adverb is pronounced, as in the words "appartement" (apartment, pronounced ah-pahr-teh-mahn) and "vraiment" (truly/really, pronounced vray-mahn). Especially at the end of words, some French syllables sound quite different than they would in English. To avoid slipping up, it's usually best to memorize the French pronunciation of these syllables. er sounds like the ay in "play." This is the infinitive ending for all verbs. It also appears at the end of other words with 2 or more syllables. ez at the end of any word also sounds like the ay in the English word "play." ail at the end of a word sounds like ah-ee. eil or eille also sounds like ah-ee. ill usually sounds like eey. gn sounds like the ni in the English word "onion." The rule here is relatively straightforward. If a word that ends in a consonant is followed by a word that begins in a vowel, the two words are spoken together. The ending consonant of the first word becomes a part of the first syllable of the second word. For example, if you said "nous avons," ("we have"), the s at the end of the word nous would flow into the a at the beginning of the word avons. The resulting phrase is pronounced noo ZAH-vong. Try another: the phrase "un petit enfant" means "a small child." The word petit ends in a consonant, while the word enfant begins with a vowel. This calls for a liaison. Accordingly, the phrase would be pronounced ung p'tee TAHNG-fahng. Basic liaisons are fairly simple to grasp. However, there are 3 consonants that are pronounced differently when they occur at the end of a word that is followed by a word starting with a vowel. You'll find that if you flow the words quickly together, you naturally make these alternate pronunciations. The change makes the words flow together more easily. An s or x sounds like a z. For example, the phrase deux ans (two years) is pronounced der zahng. A d sounds like a t. For example, the phrase un grand arbre (a tall tree) is pronounced ung grahng tahbr. An f sounds like a v. For example, the phrase neuf heures (nine hours) is pronounced ner verr. Figuring out which syllable gets the stress in English can be complicated. However, in French, the last full syllable always gets the stress. A full syllable has at least one consonant and at least one voiced vowel. Because an e at the end of a word is always silent, there are French words for which the last syllable is not a full syllable. With these words, place the stress on the syllable before the last syllable. For example, the French word table is pronounced TAH-bluh. Similarly, sentence stress in French is relatively even. While in English, you would only stress nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs, you stress all words equally in French.