Enchaînement: how French links consonants to vowels

What you’ll learn Train the ‘stickiness’ of spoken French: consonants often attach to the next vowel sound across word boundaries. Key ideas (keep these in your head) • French prefers CV (consonant‐vowel) flow; speakers avoid hard stops. • This happens even without liaison: the final consonant that is pronounced moves to the next word’s vowel. • Enchaînement is a major reason learners “know the words” but can’t parse the stream. Real examples (French → what you often hear → English) • Il est arrivé → i le ta ri vé → He arrived. • Avec elle → a vek el → With her. • Tu as une idée → tua zu né i dé → Do you have an idea? Common mistakes (and quick fixes) • Resetting the mouth between words. Fix: connect through the consonant into the next vowel. • Adding pauses to feel ‘safe’. Fix: practice slow linking, then increase speed gradually. Quick self-check Record “avec elle / avec un ami / il est arrivé”. Listen: do consonants flow into vowels smoothly?