va-t-il What does the -t-il mean?

CrystalMaidenC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

va-t-il What does the -t-il mean?

I know now that it means " does he go, " but the average person reading this wouldn't know that. -T-il is perhaps the most confusing thing about French question-making. What does the -t- even mean? Can't mean tu or te judging by the context, so why's it there? Just for phonetic reasons, like the l' in si l'on? This should really be explained in the lesson, what -t-il means.
Asked 5 years ago
ChrisC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

The "t" is just interposed to prevent two vowels from clashing, is all. Nothing deep, no reference to anything grammatical. sometimes things really are simple ;))

-- Chris. 

CrystalMaidenC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Oh good, so like the l in si l'on, just like I suspected. Still, I wish that was included in the lesson, if only as a side-note considering it's something you need to know to be able to answer one of the micro-quizes.
SimoneKwiziq community member

Wikipedia explains that the -t- is a residue of the ending of the verb in the third person singular. For exemple: ego habeo, tu habes, ille habet, I have, you have, he has. See https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/a-t-il e https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-t-.

MauriceA1Kwiziq community member

I was told by a native French teacher that  this "t" was referred to as a phonème éphelcystique.  

va-t-il What does the -t-il mean?

I know now that it means " does he go, " but the average person reading this wouldn't know that. -T-il is perhaps the most confusing thing about French question-making. What does the -t- even mean? Can't mean tu or te judging by the context, so why's it there? Just for phonetic reasons, like the l' in si l'on? This should really be explained in the lesson, what -t-il means.

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your French level for FREE

Test your French to the CEFR standard

Find your French level
Clever stuff happening!