Stress and Intonation

Rhythm is what gives away most English accents. French stresses groups of words rather than single words, and gives every syllable nearly the same weight. Fix this and everything else sounds better.

Stress falls on the group

English words have their own stress: PHOtograph, phoTOgraphy. French words don't. The last syllable of each rhythm group is longer, and the others are even. Adding a word moves the stress forward.

Phrase	Stress on
un chat	CHAT
un petit chat	CHAT
un petit chat noir	NOIR
Mon frère	FRÈRE
Mon frère arrive	RIVE
Mon frère arrive demain	MAIN

Mon frère arrive demain.My brother arrives tomorrow.
La photographie est un art.Photography is an art.

Rhythm groups

Groups follow grammar: subject + verb, verb + object, preposition + noun. Never split article from noun, or pronoun from verb. Each group ends on a slightly lengthened syllable, and the sentence is a run of these. Long sentences have more groups.

Sentence	Groups
Je voudrais un café.	Je voudrais \| un café.
Hier soir, nous sommes allés au cinéma.	Hier soir, \| nous sommes allés \| au cinéma.
Mes amis de Lyon arrivent demain matin.	Mes amis de Lyon \| arrivent \| demain matin.
Si tu veux, on peut partir.	Si tu veux, \| on peut partir.

Even syllables

French is syllable-timed: each syllable gets about the same length, and the vowels stay clear. English is stress-timed and weakens unstressed vowels. Compare 'university' and université: French gives all five syllables a clear vowel.

Tap a finger for each syllable as you practise. Keep vowels full, and avoid swallowing the middle of words.

Word	French	Syllables	English habit
photographie	pho-to-gra-phie	4, even	pho-TO-gra-phy
université	u-ni-ver-si-té	5, even	u-ni-VER-si-ty
important	im-por-tant	3, even	im-POR-tant
restaurant	res-tau-rant	3, even	RES-tau-rant
communication	com-mu-ni-ca-tion	5, even	com-mu-ni-CA-tion

photographie

Frenchpho-to-gra-phie

Syllables4, even

English habitpho-TO-gra-phy

université

Frenchu-ni-ver-si-té

Syllables5, even

English habitu-ni-VER-si-ty

important

Frenchim-por-tant

Syllables3, even

English habitim-POR-tant

restaurant

Frenchres-tau-rant

Syllables3, even

English habitRES-tau-rant

communication

Frenchcom-mu-ni-ca-tion

Syllables5, even

English habitcom-mu-ni-CA-tion

Syllables prefer vowels

French syllables tend to end on a vowel. Consonants move forward onto the next one: ca-fé, pa-ti-ner, ma-tin, a-mi. Across word boundaries too: Il a une amie becomes i-la-u-na-mie. See the liaison-enchainement sheet.

Il arrive à Paris.He's arriving in Paris.
Elle a une idée.She has an idea.

Emphatic stress

For emphasis, French adds a second stress, usually at the start of the word or on the first consonant. It's used for strong feeling, contrast or in public speaking. More often, French gives emphasis through grammar rather than volume.

Neutral	Emphatic	Effect
C'est terrible.	C'est TERrible !	Strong feeling
C'est formidable.	C'est FORmidable !	Enthusiasm
C'est impossible.	C'est IMpossible !	Insistence

C'est terrible.

EmphaticC'est TERrible !

EffectStrong feeling

C'est formidable.

EmphaticC'est FORmidable !

EffectEnthusiasm

C'est impossible.

EmphaticC'est IMpossible !

EffectInsistence

Emphasis by word order

English raises its voice on one word. French often rearranges the sentence, because stress alone may not do the job.

Structure	Example	English
C'est... qui	C'est moi qui l'ai fait.	I'm the one who did it.
C'est... que	C'est demain que je pars.	It's tomorrow that I leave.
Stressed pronoun	Moi, je ne sais pas.	As for me, I don't know.
Moved to the front	Ce film, je l'adore.	I love that film.
Moved to the end	Je l'adore, ce film.	I love that film.
Ce qui, ce que	Ce que je veux, c'est partir.	What I want is to leave.

C'est... qui

ExampleC'est moi qui l'ai fait.

EnglishI'm the one who did it.

C'est... que

ExampleC'est demain que je pars.

EnglishIt's tomorrow that I leave.

Stressed pronoun

ExampleMoi, je ne sais pas.

EnglishAs for me, I don't know.

Moved to the front

ExampleCe film, je l'adore.

EnglishI love that film.

Moved to the end

ExampleJe l'adore, ce film.

EnglishI love that film.

Ce qui, ce que

ExampleCe que je veux, c'est partir.

EnglishWhat I want is to leave.

C'est lui qui a raison.He's the one who's right.
Toi, tu ne changes pas.You never change.

Intonation patterns

Melody signals what kind of sentence it is. French pitch moves on the last syllable of each group: it rises to say 'more to come', and falls for 'finished'.

Type	Melody	Example
Statement, short	Falls at the end	Il est parti. ↘
Statement, long	Rises on each group, falls at the end	Quand je suis arrivé ↗, il pleuvait ↗, et tout le monde dormait. ↘
List	Rises each time, falls on last	du pain ↗, du fromage ↗ et du vin. ↘
Yes-no question	Rises at the end	Tu viens ? ↗
Question with est-ce que	Rises gently	Est-ce que tu viens ? ↗
Question word	Starts high, falls	Où vas-tu ? ↘
Question word at end	Rises on it	Tu vas où ? ↗
Command	Falls sharply	Viens ici ! ↘
Exclamation	High, then falls	Quelle belle journée ! ↘
Tag	Rises on the tag	C'est bon, hein ? ↗

Statement, short

MelodyFalls at the end

ExampleIl est parti. ↘

Statement, long

MelodyRises on each group, falls at the end

ExampleQuand je suis arrivé ↗, il pleuvait ↗, et tout le monde dormait. ↘

List

MelodyRises each time, falls on last

Exampledu pain ↗, du fromage ↗ et du vin. ↘

Yes-no question

MelodyRises at the end

ExampleTu viens ? ↗

Question with est-ce que

MelodyRises gently

ExampleEst-ce que tu viens ? ↗

Question word

MelodyStarts high, falls

ExampleOù vas-tu ? ↘

Question word at end

MelodyRises on it

ExampleTu vas où ? ↗

Command

MelodyFalls sharply

ExampleViens ici ! ↘

Exclamation

MelodyHigh, then falls

ExampleQuelle belle journée ! ↘

Tag

MelodyRises on the tag

ExampleC'est bon, hein ? ↗

Tu viens ?Are you coming?
Tu viens.You're coming.
Viens !Come!

Practice methods

1. Shadow a short clip: play one sentence, then repeat at the same time and speed. 2. Build from the end: demain; arrive demain; mon frère arrive demain. 3. Hum the melody of a phrase, then add words. 4. Record yourself against a model and listen only for stress position. Is the last syllable longest? Are the others even?

Nous partons en vacances la semaine prochaine.We're going on holiday next week.
Qu'est-ce que tu as fait ce week-end ?What did you do this weekend?