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Silent letters: why French doesn't say everything it writes

Tests: 1 of 12 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: plain · Understood: 7 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 1 of the french course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.

Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.

Test 1 · wrong ✗

Jade whispers, "it's French, they don't say the s, you plonker." ("Plonker" means a silly person.) Is Jade right about Paris?

  • 1. Yes, the final s in Paris is silent — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. No, the s is silent only in English — no support
  • 3. Yes, but only on Mondays in France — no support
  • 4. No, every letter is said in French — ← Mova's choice · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1, line 12: «In French ou says "oo" and oi says "wa": Louis sounds like "LWEE", moi like "mwa" and un croissant like "uhn krwa-SAHN".», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «say» (+2); the same place «french» (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · wrong ✗

Oliver goes, "why's she spelling careful with capitals, our kid?" ("Our kid" means my brother.) What is CaReFuL for?

  • 1. Remembering which letters need capitals in French — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. Practising handwriting before the French test — no support
  • 3. Showing that "careful" is the same word in French — no support
  • 4. Remembering that final c, r, f, l are usually said — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · wrong ✗

Your mate reckons, "Every last letter in French is silent, so neuf is 'neu' and bonjour is 'bonjou'." What is wrong?

  • 1. Those words drop their first letter, not their last — no support
  • 2. Only the last letter of names is silent in French — ← Mova's choice · score 6
  • 3. f and r are CaReFuL letters, so they are usually said — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. Nothing, that is exactly how the French say them — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1, line 15: «Liaison: a silent final letter wakes up when the next word starts with a vowel sound, so les amis (the friends) sounds like "lay-za-MEE", with the s said as a…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «silent final letter» (+4); the same property (+2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · right ✓

Grace in Texas goes, "y'all, where's the t at in et?" What's the answer?

  • 1. It's silent: et always sounds like "ay" — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
  • 2. The app is broken, et has no t at all — no support
  • 3. It's said loud, as in "Ethan" — no support
  • 4. It's said only at the end of a sentence — no support

Why: It took the question to ask where. It chose option 1 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1, line 7: «petit means small and sounds like "puh-TEE"; the final t is silent and the first e is a soft "uh".», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «final t» (+4); the same property (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · wrong ✗

Noah's sister laughs, "Mum, he's doing a dragon voice!" when he says "HO-tel". What would a French person say?

  • 1. "HO-tel", it is the same in every language — no support
  • 2. "khoh-TEL", with a scrape in the throat — ← Mova's choice · score 12
  • 3. "oh-TEL", leaving the h out — ✓ the right answer · score 4
  • 4. "hoh-TELL", with a soft puff — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 12, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1, line 5: «The letter h is never breathed out in French, so when a puffing English kid says "HO-tel" in Nice, the French say "oh-TEL", as if the h were invisible.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same action «say» (+4); the same thing acted on «ho tel» (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). The right option, 3, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · wrong ✗

A cartoon says the French word homme (man) like "hom" with a big breath. How should it really sound?

  • 1. "home", like an English house — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. "om", with no h breathed out — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. "hum", like a bee — no support
  • 4. "HOM-may", with the e said — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · wrong ✗

Jake goes, "bruv, that's not even a language" when Mohammed reads "vows par-lez ang-lays". ("Bruv" means mate.) What did Mohammed get wrong?

  • 1. He forgot to put the question mark at the start — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. He said final letters that should be silent — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. He should have spoken in Spanish — no support
  • 4. He said the words in the wrong order — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · wrong ✗

Emily is cross: "Where's the z in les amis? There isn't one!" What would happen if the teacher kept the s silent?

  • 1. The word amis would lose its first letter too — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. It would turn into a different word meaning "the enemies" — no support
  • 3. It would sound like "lay a-MEE", which is not how French people say it — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. Nothing, the French never join words together — no support

Why: Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · wrong ✗

Jayden says, "why's ils parlent not got the -ent bit, that's proper sus." ("Sus" means odd.) Which rule explains it?

  • 1. Only boys' names drop the -ent ending — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. The -ent is only silent when you whisper — no support
  • 3. French people are too lazy to say the ends — no support
  • 4. After ils or elles, a verb's -ent is silent — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · wrong ✗

Isla's gran orders "a wee croy-SANT, ken." ("Ken" means you know.) What should she say?

  • 1. "uhn croy-SAHN" — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. "uhn krwa-SANT" — no support
  • 3. "uhn kwa-SAHNT" — no support
  • 4. "uhn krwa-SAHN" — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · wrong ✗

Ava in Auckland thinks deux sounds like "dukes" with no k, "sweet as". Which mistake is she still making?

  • 1. She is saying the d, which is silent — ← Mova's choice · score 8
  • 2. She is saying the word too slowly — score 8
  • 3. She is saying an s sound for the silent x — ✓ the right answer · score 8
  • 4. She should say "dwa", like trois — score 8

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 8, tied with another option at 8 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1, line 13: «deux means two and sounds like "duh" said with rounded lips; the x is silent.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same doer «deux» (+4). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2). The right option, 3, scored 8. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · wrong ✗

★★★ Using the end-letter rules, which list has a sound at the end of EVERY word?

  • 1. sac, petit, neuf, avril — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. Paris, neuf, avril, bonjour — no support
  • 3. sac, neuf, avril, bonjour — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. et, sac, neuf, bonjour — no support

Why: Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the treatment of final consonants in French?

  • 1. Terminal consonants are pronounced solely in the names of persons and places — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. Every terminal consonant is to be pronounced with particular force and clarity — no support
  • 3. Terminal consonants are omitted in writing as well as in speech — no support
  • 4. The consonants s, t, d, x and z, when terminal, are customarily left unpronounced — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓

Identify the pronunciation of the conjunction et, rendered in English as "and".

  • 1. "ay", the terminal t remaining wholly silent — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. "eh-tuh", a supplementary vowel being appended — no support
  • 3. "eet", the vowel being considerably lengthened — no support
  • 4. "ett", the terminal t being distinctly articulated — no support

Why: Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the initial letter h in the word hôtel.

  • 1. It is pronounced as a scraping sound in the throat — ← Mova's choice · score 8
  • 2. It is never aspirated, so the word commences upon its vowel — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. It is pronounced solely when the word appears in capitals — score 8
  • 4. It is aspirated vigorously, after the English manner — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 8, tied with another option at 8 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1, line 1: «French writes lots of letters that nobody says out loud, a bit like the silent k in English "knee" and the silent b in "lamb".», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «say» (+4); the same thing acted on «letters» (+4). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓

It is given that the article les precedes the noun amis. Determine the pronunciation of the phrase thus formed.

  • 1. "lay-za-MEE", the s being sounded as z by liaison — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
  • 2. "lay a-MEE", the s remaining entirely silent — score 3
  • 3. "lez-AM-iss", in the English manner — no support
  • 4. "less a-MEES", both terminal letters being sounded — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 3, tied with another option at 3 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1, line 15: «Liaison: a silent final letter wakes up when the next word starts with a vowel sound, so les amis (the friends) sounds like "lay-za-MEE", with the s said as a…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «lay» (+2); the same thing acted on «za» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/french/1-silent-letters-why-french-doesnt-say-everything-it-writes/