H muet vs H aspiré: liaison and elision blockers

What you’ll learn Learn which H words allow liaison/elision (h muet) and which block it (h aspiré). Key ideas (keep these in your head) • H muet behaves like a vowel: l’hôtel, les (z)héros (liaison). • H aspiré blocks liaison and elision: le haricot (not l’haricot), les héros (often no liaison depending on the word). • You usually must learn H aspiré word-by-word; treat it as ‘starts with a consonant’ for linking rules. Real examples (French → what you often hear → English) • L’hôtel → lôtel → The hotel (elision) • Le haricot → le ari ko → The green bean (no elision) • Les (z)habitants → lez habitants → The inhabitants (liaison allowed) Common mistakes (and quick fixes) • Eliding before H aspiré (l’haricot). Fix: keep the article: le/la. • Forcing liaison before H aspiré. Fix: assume it blocks until confirmed. Quick self-check Practice: l’hôtel vs le haricot; les habitants vs les haricots. Record and compare.