Breakdown of L'homme est ici.
Questions & Answers about L'homme est ici.
Why is it l'homme and not le homme?
The word homme starts with a silent 'h', which French treats like a vowel sound. When the masculine word for 'the' (le) comes right before a vowel sound, it drops its 'e' and uses an apostrophe instead. This makes the words flow together smoothly! Why do we use est in this sentence?
Est means 'is' and is used for 'he', 'she', or 'it'. It is a form of the verb être (to be). Because 'the man' (l'homme) can be replaced by 'he' (il), it takes the same verb form: il est (he is) matches perfectly with l'homme est (the man is). Do I pronounce the 't' at the end of est?
Normally, the letters 's' and 't' in est are completely silent, making it sound like 'eh'. However, because the next word ici starts with a vowel, speakers often connect the two words by pronouncing the 't'. This smooth spoken connection is called a liaison. Learn L'homme est ici and more in French
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