É vs È vs Ê: vowel openness in everyday words

What you’ll learn Hear and reproduce the difference between closed ‘é’ and open ‘è/ê’ — and avoid English ‘ay’ drift. Key ideas (keep these in your head) • É is typically a closed vowel (more ‘tight’). È/Ê are more open (jaw slightly lower). • Many minimal pairs exist: été/était, péché/pêche, parler/parlé (context). • Don’t over‐diphthong: French vowels are cleaner than English glides. Real examples (French → what you often hear → English) • J’ai été là. → j’ai été là → I was there. • Il était là. → il était là → He was there. • C’est prêt. → c’est prêt → It’s ready. Drills é été, café, parlé, clé, bébé è/ê mère, père, tête, prêt, être Common mistakes (and quick fixes) • Turning é into English ‘ay’ glide. Fix: keep a pure vowel with steady mouth position. • Flattening everything into one sound. Fix: use ‘été’ vs ‘était’ as your anchor contrast. Quick self-check Record: été / était / mère / clé. Listen for jaw openness differences.