Pronunciation / The final consonant is often silent

A1 Breakthrough
There are no clear rules on when or when not to pronounce final consonants in French.

You don’t pronounce the final "r" of infinitive verbs that end in "er" such as habiter, visiter:

habiter

visiter

However, you do pronounce the final "r" of infinitive verbs that don’t end in "-er":

dormir

sortir

pouvoir

You also pronounce "r" in the following words:

mer

pour

toujours

In French, you generally don’t pronounce the final consonant of frequently occurring (daily) words:

logement

appartement

petit

grand

blanc


Pronouncing the final "s" of "plus"


You don’t pronounce the final "s" of "plus":

- in the expression "ne...plus":

Je n'habite plus [ply] le quartier.

- before a word beginning with a consonant:

Ce logement est plus [ply] petit.


You do pronounce the final "s" of "plus":

- in the expression "plus de"

Ce logement a plus [plys] de pièces.

- before a word beginning with a vowel:

Ce logement est plus [plyz] original.

- for the (+) sign in mathematics. You say [s] before consonants and [z] before vowels.

Il faut un bureau plus [plys] deux chambres.

Ce logement compte deux pièces plus [plyz] une.