FlexiLingoIn one line
These pairs sound identical and mean different things. In speech they make no difference; in writing they cost marks.
English has exactly this problem, and English speakers already know it is a real one. There / their / they're, its / it's, your / you're, to / too / two — same sound, different spelling, and getting it wrong marks the writer. French homophones are the same kind of error, and French readers judge them the same way. The good news is that French gives you a mechanical test for most of them, which English does not.
The forms on this page
| Form | Means | Sound |
|---|---|---|
a | has — third person of avoir | /a/ |
à | to · at — a preposition. It sounds identical to a | /a/ |
The table
| Pair | Which means what | The test |
|---|---|---|
a /a/ / à /a/ | a /a/ is a verb (avoir /a.vwaʁ/) à /a/ is a preposition | substitute avait /a.vɛ/ — does it work? → a /a/ |
ou /u/ / où /u/ | ou /u/ is "or" où /u/ is "where" | substitute "or" — does it work? → ou /u/ |
et /e/ / est /ɛ/ | et /e/ is "and" est /ɛ/ is a verb | substitute "and" — does it work? → et /e/ |
son /sɔ̃/ / sont /sɔ̃/ | son /sɔ̃/ is a possessive sont /sɔ̃/ is a verb | substitute étaient /e.tɛ/ — does it work? → sont /sɔ̃/ |
on /ɔ̃/ / ont /ɔ̃/ | on /ɔ̃/ is a pronoun ont /ɔ̃/ is a verb | substitute avaient /a.vɛ/ — does it work? → ont /ɔ̃/ |
ce /sə/ / se /sə/ | ce /sə/ is a demonstrative se /sə/ is reflexive | is a verb next? → se /sə/ |
ces /se/ / ses /se/ | ces /se/ is "these" ses /se/ is "his/her" | does "his/her" work? → ses /se/ |
la /la/ / là /la/ | la /la/ is an article là /la/ means "there" | is a noun next? → la /la/ |
peu /pø/ / peut /pø/ | peu /pø/ is "little" peut /pø/ is a verb | substitute pouvait /pu.vɛ/ — does it work? → peut /pø/ |
mais /mɛ/ / mes /me/ | mais /mɛ/ is "but" mes /me/ is a possessive | does "but" work? → mais /mɛ/ |
sa /sa/ / ça /sa/ | sa /sa/ is a possessive ça /sa/ means "that" | is a noun next? → sa /sa/ |
quand /kɑ̃/ / quant /kɑ̃/ | quand /kɑ̃/ is "when" quant à /kɑ̃.t‿a/ is "as for" | quant /kɑ̃/ always comes with à /a/ |
si /si/ / s'y /si/ | si /si/ is "if" s'y /si/ = se /sə/ + y /i/ | is a verb next? → s'y /si/ |
dans /dɑ̃/ / d'en /dɑ̃/ | dans /dɑ̃/ is "in" d'en /dɑ̃/ = de /də/ + en /ɑ̃/ | is a noun next? → dans /dɑ̃/ |
The golden test — change the tense
Any pair where one member is a verb is solved by this one move:
Put the sentence in the past. If that word changes too, it was a verb.
| Sentence | In the past | So |
|---|---|---|
Il a un livre. /i.l‿a œ̃ livʁ/ | Il avait un livre. /il a.vɛ.t‿œ̃ livʁ/ | a verb → a /a/ |
Il va à Paris. /il va a pa.ʁi/ | Il allait à Paris. /il a.lɛ.t‿a pa.ʁi/ | unchanged → à /a/ |
Ils sont là. /il sɔ̃ la/ | Ils étaient là. /ilz e.tɛ la/ | a verb → sont /sɔ̃/ |
Son livre. /sɔ̃ livʁ/ | Son livre. /sɔ̃ livʁ/ | unchanged → son /sɔ̃/ |
You already use this method in English. To choose between its and it's, you expand to "it is" and see whether the sentence survives. The French test is the same manoeuvre with a different substitution — and unlike the English one, it covers seven pairs instead of one.
Exceptions
| Note | What happens |
|---|---|
à /a/ is never a verb | if you are unsure and the slot needs a verb, it is a /a/ |
où /u/ is the only word with ù /y/ | in the whole of French, only this one |
c'est /sɛ/ and s'est /sɛ/ | c'est /sɛ/ = "it is" s'est /sɛ/ = a reflexive in the past: il s'est lavé /il sɛ la.ve/ |
ce /sə/ can precede a verb too | ce sont /sə sɔ̃/ ce serait /sə sə.ʁɛ/ — so the "is a verb next" test is not sufficient on its own |
leur /lœʁ/ / leurs /lœʁ/ | the object pronoun never takes an s /ɛs/: je leur parle /ʒə lœʁ paʁl/; the possessive does: leurs livres /lœʁ livʁ/ |
Examples
| English | French | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| He has a book | Il a un livre. | /i.l‿a œ̃ livʁ/ |
| He's going to Paris | Il va à Paris. | /il va a pa.ʁi/ |
| Tea or coffee? | Thé ou café ? | /te u ka.fe/ |
| Where do you live? | Où habites-tu ? | /u a.bit ty/ |
| my father and my mother | mon père et ma mère | /mɔ̃ pɛʁ e ma mɛʁ/ |
| He is happy | Il est content. | /i.l‿ɛ kɔ̃.tɑ̃/ |
| his book | son livre | /sɔ̃ livʁ/ |
| They are here | Ils sont ici. | /il sɔ̃.t‿i.si/ |
Common mistakes
| ❌ | ✅ | Why |
|---|---|---|
Il à un livre. | Il a un livre. | avait works → it is a verb |
Il va a Paris. | Il va à Paris. | It is a preposition and needs the accent |
Ou habites-tu ? | Où habites-tu ? | "Where" carries the accent |
Ils son là. | Ils sont là. | étaient works → it is a verb |
Ce lave. | Se lave. | It is a reflexive pronoun |
Je leurs parle. | Je leur parle. | The object pronoun takes no s |
Why this matters so much
irrelevant in speech, decisive in writing
Every pair in the table is pronounced identically:
| IPA | |
|---|---|
a à | /a/ |
ou où | /u/ |
et est | /e/ · /ɛ/ — a fine difference that disappears in speech |
son sont | /sɔ̃/ |
ce se | /sə/ |
So when you speak, nobody can tell which one you had in mind. When you write, each one is a spelling error.
And these are among the most frequent words in the language — a, à, et, est appear in almost every sentence. One bad habit produces dozens of errors in a single text.
The practical advice: drill the "put it in the past" test until it is automatic. Seven of the twelve pairs in this table are solved by that one move.