Here is the main difference between savoir and connaître in French:
Savoir
Savoir is followed by an infinitive or a clause starting with qui (who), que (what), quoi (what), quand (when), comment (how), où (where), si (if), etc.
Savoir is used when we have knowledge of something, like for example:
Je sais qu’il fait chaud en été. I know it’s hot in summer.
Tu sais où ton ami habite. You know where your friend lives.
Or when we know how to do something:
Elle sait jouer à la guitare. She knows how to play the guitar.
Nous savons nager. We know how to swim.
Connaître
Connaître is followed by a noun, a person’s name or a place.
Je connais cette recette (noun). I know this recipe.
Vous connaissez Elsa (person’s name). You know Elsa.
Ils connaissent cette region (place). They know that region.
Thank you for reading this post. Feel free to share it if you liked it.
We make the “liaison” in French when we pronounce the last consonant of a word with the first syllable of the following word, when it starts with a vowel or a silent h.
The liaison is mainly made with the sounds [z], [t] and [n].
When the last consonant is an “s” or an “x”, we make a [z] sound.
Also, after “grand” and “quand” we make a [t] sound.
Liaison in groups of nouns
We make the liaison in groups of nouns and after all numbers, like the examples in the table below:
Français
IPA*
English
Des_histoires
[de zistwaʀ]
Some stories
Mon_ami
[mɔ̃ nami]
My friend
Aux_États_Unis
[o zeta zyni]
In the United States
Huit_ans
[ˈɥi tɑ̃]
Eight years
Six_euros
[si zøʀo]
Six euros
*IPA : International Phonetic Alphabet
We make the liaison between an adjective and a noun, when the noun follows the adjective:
Français
IPA*
English
Joyeux_anniversaire
[ʒwajø zanivɛʀsɛʀ]
Happy birthday
Bon_appétit
[bɔ̃ napeti]
Enjoy your meal
Un petit_objectif
[œ̃ p(ə)ti tɔbʒɛktif]
A small goal
Un grand_arbre
[œ̃ gʀɑ̃ taʀbʀ]
A tall tree
*IPA : International Phonetic Alphabet
Liaison in groups of verbs
We make the liaison in groups of verbs after the personal pronouns, “on”, “nous”, “vous”, “ils” and “elles”, like in the examples below:
Français
IPA*
English
On_a
[ɔ̃ na]
We have
Nous_écrivons
[nu zekʀivɔ̃]
We write
Vous_êtes
[vu zɛt]
You are
Ils_apprennent
[il zapʀɛn]
They learn
Elles_achètent
[ɛl zaʃɛt]
They buy
*IPA : International Phonetic Alphabet
Liaison after short adverbs
We make the liaison after short adverbs like:
Français
IPA*
English
Elle est très_optimiste
[ɛl ɛ tʀɛ zɔptimist]
She is very optimistic
Vous avez bien_écouté
[vu ave bjɛ̃ nekute]
You listened carefully
*IPA : International Phonetic Alphabet
Quand
We also make the liaison after “quand”, and it makes a [t] sound. For example:
Français
IPA*
English
Quand_on marche
[kɑ̃ tɔ̃ maʀʃ]
When we walk
*IPA : International Phonetic Alphabet
Liaison in specific expressions
We also make the liaison in specific expressions like these common ones:
Français
IPA*
English
Plus_ou moins
[ply zu mwɛ̃]
More or less
De temps_en temps
[də tɑ̃ zɑ̃ tɑ̃]
From time to time
Pas_à pas
[pɑ za pɑ]
Step by step
Petit_à petit
[p(ə)ti ta p(ə)ti]
Little by little
*IPA : International Phonetic Alphabet
Aspirated h
Some words starting with an h in French have an aspirated h and with these words we don’t make the liaison. For example:
Français
IPA
English
Un héros
[œ̃ ˈeʀo]
A hero
Des haricots
[de ˈaʀiko]
Some French beans
Des hérissons
[de ˈeʀisɔ̃]
Some hedgehogs
*IPA : International Phonetic Alphabet
If you want to exercise yourself with the liaison you can do it here.
Thank you for reading this post. Feel free to share it if you liked it.
Here are in the table bellow the different indirect object pronouns in the French language and their equivalent in English:
Personal pronouns
Indirect object pronouns
Pronouns in English
Je
Me, t’
Me
Tu
Te, t’
You
Il, elle, on
Lui
His, her, its
Nous
Nous
Us
Vous
Vous
You
Ils, elles
Leur
Them
To find out wether or not a verb need a direct object pronouns or an indirect object pronouns you can ask yourself the question “à qui ?” (to who) or “à quoi ?” (to what) after the verb.
For examples:
Je parle à mon ami. Je parle (à qui ?) à mon ami. Je lui parle.
I talk to my friend. I talk (to whom?) to my friend. I talk to him.
The following table shows the phrase structure for the main French tenses:
Présent
Personal pronoun
Indirect object pronouns
Verb
Je
lui
parle
Passé composé
Personal pronoun
Indirect object pronouns
Auxiliary
Past participe
Je
lui
ai
parlé
Imparfait
Personal pronoun
Indirect object pronouns
Verb
Je
lui
parlais
Futur proche
Personal pronoun
Verb
Indirect object pronouns
Infinitive
Je
vais
lui
parler
Futur simple
Personal pronoun
Indirect object pronouns
Verb
Je
lui
parlerai
Here is a list of common verbs which use the indirect object pronouns:
Here are in the table bellow the different direct object pronouns in the French language and their equivalent in English:
Personal pronouns
Direct object pronouns
Pronouns in English
Je
Me, t’
Me
Tu
Te, t’
You
Il, elle, on
Le, la, l’
His, her, its
Nous
Nous
Us
Vous
Vous
You
Ils, elles
Les
Them
To find out wether or not a verb need a direct object pronouns or an indirect object pronouns you can ask yourself the question “qui ?” (who?) or “quoi ?” (what?) after the verb.
For examples:
J’aide mon ami. J’aide (qui ?) mon ami. Je l’aide.
I help my friend. I help (who?) my friend. I help him.
Je mange un fruit. Je mange (quoi ?) un fruit. Je le mange.
I eat a fruit. I eat (what?) a fruit. I eat it.
The following table shows the phrase structure for the main French tenses: