Module 4 of the free French course (CEFR A2, completed), lesson 17 of 30: Before a vowel the pronoun elides: je l'aime (I like it/him/her), je l'écoute, je l'attends. On this page: 7 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 17.
| French | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| je l'aime | I like it / I love him or her | zhuh LEM |
| je l'adore | I love it | zhuh lah-DOR |
| adorer | to love (things) | ah-doh-RAY |
| je l'écoute | I listen to it | zhuh lay-KOOT |
| je l'attends | I am waiting for it | zhuh lah-TAH(n) |
| détester | to hate | day-tess-TAY |
| je déteste | I hate | zhuh day-TEST |
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.
Before a vowel the pronoun elides: je l'aime (I like it/him/her), je l'écoute, je l'attends.
Tu aimes le chocolat? — Je l'adore! Adorer is aimer's enthusiastic cousin.
je l'aime can be I like it, I love him or I love her: the elided l' hides the gender, and the context decides.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The French Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.
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