Stage 0 · A1 découverte
The “eu” sound and silent e
Recognise eu and understand why some unstressed e sounds are weak in everyday French speech.
1. Objective
By the end, you will recognise the spelling eu and notice weak e in frequent words.
2. I discover
Compare: deux, peu, peur, sœur / semaine, petit. Which words contain eu?
3. I understand
The spelling eu is pronounced in words such as deux, peu, peur and sœur. An unaccented e can be very weak or disappear in everyday speech, for example in semaine or petit depending on speech rate. Do not confuse eu with a plain e.
Schwa depends on the word, speaking rate and register. At this level, learn frequent words rather than applying a mechanical rule.
4. Guided practice
5. Independent practice
6. I write / I speak
Produce three new examples that follow the rule exactly, then read them aloud.
7. Check my learning
8. What I remember
eu appears in deux, peu, peur, sœur. A plain e may be weak in speech: semaine, petit. Always read the whole word.
9. Now I can…
- I can recognise the feature in new words or phrases.
- I can use it without copying the examples.
