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petit / petite: the final consonant

CEFR A1

petit

/pəti/

small, masculine

petite

/pətit/

small, feminine

What tells the two sounds apart

  • /i/Isolated petit ends in a vowel: the written t is silent here.
  • /t/Petite has an audible t without an extra final e syllable in this model.

Why it is hard

An English silent final e does not prepare you for this French change: petite has an audible t that isolated petit lacks. Do not add an e syllable in this model; liaison and regional accents can alter the pattern.

Le petit sac est sur la petite table.

To practise

  1. grand/ɡʁɑ̃/big, masculine
  2. grande/ɡʁɑ̃d/big, feminine
  3. vert/vɛʁ/green, masculine
  4. verte/vɛʁt/green, feminine