Log inSign up

Ils parlent bien anglais et français.

Ils parlent bien anglais et français.
They speak English and French well.
From Lesson 18:Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)·French

Questions & Answers about Ils parlent bien anglais et français.

Why is the -ent ending on parlent silent?
For regular -er verbs, the -ent ending for the 'they' form (ils or elles) is always completely silent. You pronounce parlent exactly the same as the singular form, parle.
Why does bien come right after the verb instead of at the end of the sentence?
In French, short adverbs like bien (well) or mal (badly) are usually placed immediately after the conjugated verb. While in English we say 'They speak English well', French word order is literally 'They speak well English'.
Why aren't the words anglais and français capitalized?
Unlike in English, the names of languages are never capitalized in French. You only capitalize these words when you are referring to the people of a country, such as les Français (the French people).
Shouldn't there be an article like l' or le before the languages?
Normally, languages require an article in French. However, the verb parler (to speak) is a special exception where you can safely drop the article. Saying parlent le français is also correct, but dropping the le is very common and natural.

Learn Ils parlent bien anglais et français and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →