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Accents: é, è, ê, ç and friends

Tests: 3 of 12 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 6 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 3 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 ✗

Poppy moans, "cafe is literally the same as English, so unfair." What would café sound like without its é?

  • 1. "ka-FEE", like in an American diner — no support
  • 2. Exactly the same, so the accent is only decoration — ← Mova's choice · score 6
  • 3. "ka-FAY", but only in capitals — score 5
  • 4. "KAF", because the final e would be silent — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 6, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 3, line 3: «An accent can also change only the meaning: ou means "or" and où means "where", and they sound exactly the same.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «accents» (+2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

Daniel in Liverpool asks, "Boss, so the dad's the sea?" ("Boss" means great.) What is the truth?

  • 1. la mer is the dad, and le maire is the mum — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. la mère is the mother; la mer is the sea — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. They all mean the sea, just spelled differently — no support
  • 4. la mère is the sea; le père is the mayor — 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 ✗

Hannah asks, "What's that wee hat on forêt for?" ("Wee" means small.) What is the best answer?

  • 1. It shows that the t is said very loud — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. It shows that the word is about a king — no support
  • 3. It shows an s that dropped out long ago — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. It shows that the word must be shouted — 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 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

Max says leaving off the cédille is "heaps unfair, it's just a squiggle." ("Heaps" means very.) What happens without it?

  • 1. The word changes into the word for girl — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. Nothing changes, it is just a little squiggle — no support
  • 3. The c turns hard, so it sounds like "gar-KON" — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. The c becomes silent, so it sounds like "gar-ON" — 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 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

Leah's mate says, "just put an accent on every a, it's safer." Why is that wrong?

  • 1. French has no accents on the letter a at all — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. a (has) and à (to, at) are different words — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. Every a needs an accent, so the mate is right — no support
  • 4. Accents only go on the last letter of a word — 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 6 · ★ · wrong ✗

Ollie wrote "Ou est la gare ?" His teacher laughs: "You asked 'or is the station'." What did he forget?

  • 1. the cédille under the c — no support
  • 2. the two dots on the e — no support
  • 3. the accent grave on où — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. the capital letter on gare — ← Mova's choice · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 3, the only option with support. 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 same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same thing acted on «letters» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1); a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · right ✓

Ben goes, "No way, capitals don't get accents." What would a French dictionary say?

  • 1. Accents on capitals are against the law — no support
  • 2. Capitals keep their accents, as in ÉCOLE — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 18
  • 3. Only names in capitals get accents — score 8
  • 4. Capitals never have accents in French — score 14

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 18, against 14 for the next best. Its support: lesson 3, line 15: «In good French writing, capitals keep their accents: ÉCOLE, À BIENTÔT.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same action «keep» (+4); the same doer «capitals» (+4); the same thing acted on «accents» (+4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗

Lily in Atlanta says, "Y'all, dirty and salty look the same!" Which pair is she looking at?

  • 1. sel and selle — no support
  • 2. sale and sel — ← Mova's choice · score 5
  • 3. salé and salade — no support
  • 4. sale and salé — ✓ the right answer · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 5, tied with another option at 5 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 3, line 19: «Slang here: "boss" (Liverpool) means great; "wee" (Scotland) means small; "heaps" (Australia) means very; "lush" (Wales) means lovely; "peng" (London) means gr…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «accents» (+2). The right option, 4, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

Alfie asks, "Them accents is well peng but what are they called?" ("Peng" means great.) Which name matches ç?

  • 1. tréma — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. accent aigu — no support
  • 3. cédille — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. accent circonflexe — 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 ✗

Camille writes, "Ce n'est pas grave !" after Ellie forgets the hat on gâteau. Ellie panics. What should she understand?

  • 1. Camille is cross because Ellie forgot the accent grave — no support
  • 2. Camille is saying "no big deal", not talking about an accent — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 3. Camille is saying the cake has been buried — no support
  • 4. Camille wants Ellie to put a grave accent on the cake — ← Mova's choice · score 6

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 3, line 1: «French letters sometimes wear little hats, lines and tails, called accents, and they are part of the spelling, just like the dot on an i.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same thing acted on «little hats» (+4). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2); a different doer (counts against) (-2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · right ✓

★★★ Using the lost-s rule, which English word matches the French word île?

  • 1. isle — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. ill — no support
  • 3. isn't — no support
  • 4. eel — 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 12 · ★ · right ✓

★★★ A French word is written in four ways. Which is correct for "the boy is at the hospital"?

  • 1. Le garçon est à l'hôpital. — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. Le garcon est a l'hopital. — no support
  • 3. Le garçon est à l'hopitâl. — no support
  • 4. Le garçon est a l'hôpital. — 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

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the function of accents in written French?

  • 1. They are employed solely upon words borrowed from English — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. They indicate exclusively that a syllable is to be stressed — no support
  • 3. They form an integral part of the spelling and may alter sound or meaning — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. They are purely decorative and may be omitted without consequence — 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

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

Identify the function of the cédille when placed beneath the letter c before a, o or u.

  • 1. It renders the letter wholly silent — no support
  • 2. It causes the letter to be pronounced as "k" — ← Mova's choice · score 8
  • 3. It causes the letter to be pronounced as "s" — ✓ the right answer · score 8
  • 4. It causes the letter to be doubled — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 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 3, line 11: «Without its cédille, garçon would be read "gar-KON", because c before a, o or u says "k".», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «say» (+5); the same circumstance (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 3, scored 8. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓

Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the words ou and où.

  • 1. The former signifies "or" and the latter "where", the two being pronounced identically — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 2. Both signify "where", the accent being merely ornamental — no support
  • 3. Both signify "or", the accent indicating emphasis — no support
  • 4. The former signifies "where" and the latter "or", the two being pronounced differently — 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

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

It is given that a circumflex accent frequently occupies the position of a letter lost from an older spelling. Determine the letter most commonly so replaced.

  • 1. The letter n — ← Mova's choice · no support
  • 2. The letter e — no support
  • 3. The letter s — ✓ the right answer · no support
  • 4. The letter h — 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

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/french/3-accents-e-e-e-c-and-friends/