This article talks about 10 French words which change to ones which use an apostrophe.
All the French words discussed in this article usually change when they are followed by a vowel or a h.
In short, an apostrophe represents a missing letter in French, but an apostophe is only used with certain French words. This article discusses them.
1. le – l´
The masculine singular word for the in French i.e. le changes to l´ when followed by a vowel or a h, for example:
- l´homme (the man)
- l´oncle (the uncle)
- l´ami (the (male) friend)
Note: The word le can also be a direct object pronoun. Le changes to l´ in the same way as discussed above when it is used as a direct object pronoun, for example:
- Elle l´a vu (She saw him/She has seen him) = le is followed by a vowel, therefore changes to l´
2. la – l´
The second word discussed here is the feminine singular word for the in French, namely la. The word la changes in the same way as discussed above, for example:
- l´amie (the (female) friend)
- Elle l´a vue (She saw her/She has seen her)
In the examples above, la is followed by a vowel therefore changes to l´.
3. de – d´
The word de, which usually means of or from, changes to d´ in the same way as previous examples:
- Elle vient d´Angleterre. (She comes from England)
In this example, de is followed by a vowel, therefore changes to d´.
4. ça — c´
The word ça, which usually means it (or possibly that) changes to c´ in the same way as previous examples, for example:
- C´est fantastique! (It´s fantastic!/That´s fantastique!)
5. je — j´
The word je which means I changes to j´ in the same way as above (i.e. when followed by a vowel or h):
- J´ai (I have)
- J´aime (I like)
- J'habite (I live)
6. me — m´
The French word me can be:
- A direct object pronoun with the English meaning me
- A direct object pronoun in French is typically the person (or thing) being seen, the person (or thing) being heard, etc.
- An indirect object pronoun usually with the meaning to me (often, however, "to" is dropped in English)
- An indirect object pronoun in French typically the person to whom an action is done, a recipient, for example, to whom someone writes, to whom someone says something, etc.
- A reflexive pronoun with the meaning myself (although reflexive sentences are not common in English)
- Reflexive pronouns are used with reflexive verbs in French (e.g. se laver = to wash oneself). Reflexive verbs are much more common in the French language than in English.
Regardless of the meaning, me changes to m´ in the same way as other words discussed above, for example:
- Elle m´a vu(e) (She saw me/She has seen me)
- Here m´ is a direct object pronoun here, as it is the person seen (i.e. the direct object of the action of seeing).
- Elle m´a donné un cadeau (She gave me a gift/She has given me a gift) = indirect object pronoun
- In this sentence m´ is an indirect object pronoun, as the gift is given to me. It tells us to whom the action is done. Here to whom the action of giving is done.
- Je me lève (I am getting up) = reflexive pronoun
- This sentence literally means "I myself lift" and comes from the reflexive verb se lever (to lift oneself).
7. te - t´
The French word te can be:
- A direct object pronoun with the English meaning you
- An indirect object pronoun usually with the meaning to you (often, however, "to" is dropped in English)
- A reflexive pronoun with the meaning yourself (although reflexive sentences are not common in English)
Regardless of the meaning, te changes to t´ in the same way as other words discussed above (i.e. usually before a vowel or a h), for example:
- Elle t´a vu(e) (She saw you/She has seen you) = direct object pronoun
- Here t´ is a direct object pronoun here, as it is the person seen (i.e. the direct object of the action of seeing).
- Elle t´a donné un cadeau (She gave you a gift/She has given you a gift) = indirect object pronoun
- In this sentence t´ is an indirect object pronoun, as the gift is given to you. It tells us to whom the action, here of giving, is done.
- Tu te lèves (You are getting up) = reflexive pronoun
- This sentence literally means "You yourself lift" and comes from the reflexive verb se lever (to lift oneself).
8. se — s´
The French word se is usually:
- A reflexive pronoun with the meaning himself, herself or themselves (although reflexive sentences are not common in English)
Regardless of the meaning, se changes to s´ in the same way as other words discussed above, for example:
- Il s'appelle Pierre (His name is Pierre)
- Here the sentence literally means "He himself calls Pierre".
9. que – qu´
Que can have several meaning, namely:
- The question word What?*
- The word that when used to form a conjunction (e.g. I think that….)
Again, it usually shortens to qu´ when followed by a vowel or h, for example:
- Qu´est-ce que tu fais? (What are you doing?)
- This sentence is literally “What is it that you do?”
- Elle pense qu´il est à Paris. (She thinks that she is in Paris)
- Il a dit qu´elle est allée en France (He (has) said that she went (or has gone) to France).
*Note: Qu´est-ce que….? (“What is it that….”) is a popular alternative to Que…? (“What…?) as a question word.
10. si – s´
The word si can mean “yes” when answering a negative question. This form does not shortened.
However the usual meaning of si with the English meaning of if usually changes to s´ before a vowel or a h, for example:
- s´il te plaît* (please)
- This phrase literally means if it pleases you. You use it to, say, when speaking to one friend. (When speaking more formally and/or to more than one person you should use "s´il vous plaît" instead).
- Je ne sais pas s´elle va en France (I don´t know if she goes (or is going) to France)
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