The accent marks

Hello,

Does a student have to remember each French word with it's accent mark? Are words always written with them? For example; derrière, clé, etc.

Thanks

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EducatorPermalink Reply by George Hunt on July 25, 2012 at 5:23pm

I don't think you need to use them for capital letters.

Otherwise I think you do need to know and use them.

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EducatorPermalink Reply by stu harris on July 25, 2012 at 9:54pm

Yes, optional on capital letters (I've often wondered why) but e and é are actually considered different letters. They're on different keys on an AZERTY keyboard.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Clavier-Azerty.svg

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Permalink Reply by Christine on July 26, 2012 at 8:57am

Yes, you need to use them (though some will say it's false, they're commonly absent from capital letters, as George and stu both stated). They often come from an "historical" "s": écouter coming from escouter.

It gives an indication on how to pronounce the word, and it helps distinguish between words that would otherwise be the same: mur/mûr = wall/ripe, or mémé/même = granny/same.

Better yet: côte/côté/coté/cote = rib (or coast, this one already has two meanings!)/side/rated/value (in stock market)