Pouvoir, vouloir, devoir

Read any word aloud, even if you have never heard it

French spelling looks chaotic, but it is far more regular than English. Run through these five steps, in this order, and you will read almost every new word correctly.

1. Cut off the silent end

• Final -e is silent: robe /ʁɔb/, groupe /ɡʁup/.
• Final consonants are usually silent: soldat /sɔlda/, prix /pʁi/, lourd /luʁ/ (the d is silent, the r is not).
• Exceptions: c, r, f, l are often pronounced (think English CaReFuL): avec, honneur, neuf, seul.
• But -er at the end of a verb is /e/: danser /dɑ̃se/, jurer /ʒyʁe/.
• The verb ending -ent after ils/elles is silent: ils mentent /il mɑ̃t/. Everywhere else -ent is nasal: différent /difeʁɑ̃/.

2. Read vowel groups as one sound

3. Spot the nasals

Vowel + n/m is nasal only when no vowel follows and the consonant is not doubled: sentiment /sɑ̃timɑ̃/, craindre /kʁɛ̃dʁ/, américain /ameʁikɛ̃/. Compare américaine /ameʁikɛn/ (vowel follows) and honneur /ɔnœʁ/ (double n): no nasal.

4. Check the consonant traps

• c and g are soft before e, i, y: certains /sɛʁtɛ̃/, village /vilaʒ/; hard elsewhere: capitaine, groupe. gu + e/i keeps the hard /ɡ/: gueule.
• ch = /ʃ/ like German sch: échapper. qu = /k/: pique-nique /piknik/. gn = /ɲ/ like Spanish ñ: signe /siɲ/.
• Single s between vowels = /z/: raisonnable /ʁɛzɔnabl/. Double ss = /s/.
• h is always silent: honneur, habiter /abite/.
• ex- before a vowel = /ɛɡz/: exactement /ɛɡzaktəmɑ̃/.

5. Stress the last syllable, lightly

French has no strong word stress like German or English, just a light rise at the end of the word or phrase: considérable /kɔ̃sideʁabl/, not English conSIDerable.

Tip: cognates are the most dangerous words, because your English or German brain takes over. Say impossible as /ɛ̃pɔsibl/: nasal in, even rhythm, and a swallowed final -ble.

Three modal verbs

Like German können, wollen, müssen, these verbs take a plain infinitive. The big difference: in French the infinitive comes right after the modal, not at the end of the sentence.

• Je peux venir demain. Ich kann morgen kommen. / I can come tomorrow.
• Nous voulons terminer à midi. Wir wollen um zwölf fertig sein. / We want to finish at noon.
• Vous devez utiliser ce formulaire. Sie müssen dieses Formular benutzen. / You have to use this form.

All three follow the boot pattern: je, tu, il and ils have the changed stem (peu-, veu-, doi-), nous and vous keep the infinitive stem (pouv-, voul-, dev-). And je/tu/il sound identical: peux, peux, peut are all /pø/.

Negation wraps the modal

Je ne peux pas venir. (Ich kann nicht kommen.) Il ne veut pas danser. Tu ne dois pas mentir.

Careful: ne pas devoir means must not (nicht dürfen), not don't have to (nicht müssen). For that, say Tu n'as pas besoin de venir. (Du musst nicht kommen.)

devoir has three faces

• obligation: Je dois partir. I have to leave.
• probability: Il doit être malade. He must be ill. (Er ist wohl krank.)
• owing: Je te dois dix euros. I owe you ten euros. (Ich schulde dir zehn Euro.)

Polite requests: the conditional

In hotels, shops and emails the bare present (je veux) sounds blunt, exactly like German Ich will. Use the conditional, the equivalent of ich hätte gern, könnten Sie, Sie sollten:

• Je voudrais une chambre calme. Ich hätte gern ein ruhiges Zimmer. / I'd like a quiet room.
• Pourriez-vous m'aider ? Könnten Sie mir helfen? / Could you help me?
• Est-ce que je pourrais laisser mon sac ici ? Könnte ich meine Tasche hier lassen? / Could I leave my bag here?
• Vous devriez essayer. Sie sollten es versuchen. / You should try.

Je veux bien does not mean I want: it is a friendly gladly, yes please (gerne).

savoir vs connaître

English has one know, German has two, and French matches German almost exactly.

• savoir = wissen: facts, information, and clauses with que, où, si, comment. Je sais qu'il habite ici. (Ich weiß, dass er hier wohnt.) Vous savez où est la salle ? (Wissen Sie, wo der Saal ist?)
• savoir + infinitive = können as a learned skill: Elle sait danser. Sie kann tanzen. Use pouvoir for being able or allowed right now: Elle ne peut pas danser ce soir.
• connaître = kennen: people, places, things you are familiar with. Je connais ce village. Tu connais Marc ?

Quick test: if German says kennen, use connaître; if it says wissen, use savoir.

Almost free vocabulary

French adjectives in -able and -ible usually match English letter for letter. German often has them too, as -abel / -ibel (stabil, komfortabel, flexibel), or translates them with -bar or -lich.

Spelling traps

• responsable has -able, English responsible has -ible.
• confortable has an n, English comfortable an m.
• raisonnable has a double n, from raison.
• Pronunciation: the final -ble is one quick cluster /bl/ with no vowel after it: stable /stabl/.

False friends

• sensible = sensitive (German sensibel), not sensible. English sensible = raisonnable.
• disponible = available (verfügbar), not disposable.
• formidable = great, terrific, a compliment, not formidable.

Reading tip: when you meet an unknown -able/-ible word, strip the ending and look for the root: préférable from préférer, raisonnable from raison.