The Battle of the Accents: é vs. è

By Marie-Claire Lander

Now that we’ve learned about the accent aigu (acute accent), which modifies sound and differentiates meaning, it's time to introduce its counterpart, the accent grave (è, which sounds like the “e” in English “met"). We will explore the differences between both accents and discuss how é, è, and e interact within a single word.

Before we embark on this lesson, note that while both accents can modify the sound of the letter e, the accent grave is also used over the letter a as in là (here, there) and the letter u (only in où, "where"), but without affecting pronunciation:

Et voilà, je vais me réfugier, euh... là où je peux

And that's it, I go to take refuge, uh... where I can

Caption 62, Français avec Nelly L'histoire de Notre-Dame de Paris - Part 2
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Going back to the letter e, there is a definite difference in pronunciation between the grave è and the acute é, though this distinction is sometimes missed by French learners. For example, in the word élève (student), the é pronounced like the "ay" in "day," and the è like the "e" in "met." Can you hear the difference between the closed é and open è sound in this example?

C'est une très bonne élève.

She's a very good student.

Caption 68, Français avec Nelly A Simple Technique to Increase Your Vocab - Part 1
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Now that we’ve established pronunciation, let’s focus on the difference in accent placement. Unlike the accent aigu é, which frequently ends a word as in parlé (spoken), the accent grave è never does. But è often appears before a final silent s, as in procès (trial):

Le procès commence par l'audition de la prévenue.

The trial begins with the hearing of the accused.

Caption 57, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Volé par sa belle-mère ? - Part 1
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Interestingly, these two accents also share some common characteristics. Neither é nor è can be placed before a word ending in a double consonant, as in poubelle (trash/trashcan):

Or, une bonne partie des journaux finit à la poubelle.

Now, a large proportion of newspapers end up in the trash.

Caption 38, Il était une fois: Notre Terre 25. Technologies - Part 6
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Likewise, no accents are necessary for adjectives that take a double consonant in the feminine, as in muet/muette (mute):

Et bien qu'elle fût muette, le prince donna à la jeune femme mystérieuse une grande place dans son cœur.

And even though she was mute, the prince gave the mysterious young woman a big place in his heart.

Captions 20-21, Contes de fées La petite sirène - Part 2
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However, you guessed it, there are exceptions! Instead of taking on a double consonant in the feminine, a handful of masculine adjectives ending in -et, as in secret, take an accent grave followed by a single consonant in the feminine: secrète.

Et qu'elle a... une technique secrète qui lui est propre.

And that they have... a secret technique of their own.

Captions 22-23, Lionel L Le truc
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Here is the complete list: complet/complète (complete), incomplet/incomplète (incomplete), concret/concrète (concrete), discret/indiscrète (discreet), indiscret/indiscrète (indiscreet), replet/replète (plump), désuet/désuète (outdated), inquiet/inquiète (worried), and secret/secrète (secret).

The adjectives mentioned above follow this general rule: when a word ends in e + consonant + unstressed e, the first e takes an accent grave. For example, père (father):

Mon père, ben, il était... grand

My father, well, he was... tall

Caption 84, TF1 Info Fontainebleau : l'appel de la forêt - Part 2
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Another rule is that when an e appears before two consonants, an accent grave is required if the second consonant is an l or an r, as in trèfle (clover), règlement (regulation), or lèvre (lip):

Et je remplis ma bouche avec mon rouge à lèvres.

And I fill in my lips with my lipstick.

Captions 44-45, Acelya Maquillage
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Voilà le règlement intérieur du zoo.

Here are the zoo's rules and regulations.

Caption 37, Les zooriginaux 3 Qui suis-je? - Part 3
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The 1990 French spelling reform made some changes to the rules for é and è, as Lionel explains:

Des accents graves vont remplacer des accents aigus.

Some grave accents are going to replace some acute accents.

Caption 27, Lionel L La réforme du français
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For example, événement (event) becomes évènement:

Le plus bel exemple, c'est événement qui avant s'écrivait avec deux accents aigus, et qui maintenant va avoir un accent aigu et ensuite un accent grave.

The nicest example is "event," which was previously written with two acute accents, and which now will have one acute accent and then a grave accent.

Captions 28-30, Lionel L La réforme du français
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The 1990 reform also simplified the conjugation of some first-group verbs. For example, the accent aigu é in the verb je céderai (I will give in) becomes an accent grave è, je cèderai:

Idem pour je céderai.

Likewise for "I will give in."

Caption 31, Lionel L La réforme du français
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That said, the 1990 reform remains controversial, and many writers, educators, and major media outlets choose not to follow it. So both événement and évènement are perfectly acceptable, as are céderai/cèderai.

Here's a summary to help you remember where an è is necessary:

Before a final silent -s:

procès (trial), après (after)

Before a final consonant + unstressed e:

père (father), mère (mother)

Before a consonant + le or re:

règlement (regulation), lèvre (lip), trèfle (clover)

Per the 1990 spelling reform, before a syllable containing an unstressed e, although an accent aigu is still acceptable:

évènement/événement (event), je cèderai/céderai (I will give in)

No accent needed before double consonants:

poubelle (trash), muette (mute)

In conclusion, despite the 1990 reform intended to simplify things, accent rules remain complex! So, until the next reform, our Yabla videos are here to help you come to grips with accents. Thank you for reading!

Topics Grammar