L'

MeganA0Kwiziq community member

L'

I still don't understand when do you do l'.
Asked 7 years ago
GruffKwiziq team memberCorrect answer
Hi Megan,

If the next word starts with the letter a, e, i, o or u, then you contract le or la to l'.

If it starts with an h, but the h is silent/mute/unpronounced when the word is spoken (so in effect the next letter which is a vowel is the real first letter) then again, contract le or la to l'.

It just makes the words a bit easier to say and that's reflected in how they're written.

Does this answer your question?
JoakimC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Are there no French nouns beginning with "y" ?
LauraKwiziq team member
Joakim, Yes, there are, but you don't contract in front of them: le yaourt, le yurt, etc.
GruffKwiziq team member

You would contract "le" + "y" though (the adverbial pronoun) - again because it's pronounced as a vowel here. "Je l'y rejoins" for example.

MeganA0Kwiziq community member
Yes that answers my question. Thanks
JanisA0Kwiziq community member

When the following word begins with a vowel.

L'

I still don't understand when do you do l'.

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