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Learn Hardcore French: Je lis la convocation. - I read the formal meeting notice.

Hardcore French
/Taking part in a co-ownership meeting
/Je lis la convocation.

Je lis la convocation.

Je lis la convocation.

I read the formal meeting notice.

Breakdown of Je lis la convocation.

the formal meeting notice

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Questions & Answers about Je lis la convocation.

How do you pronounce Je lis la convocation?

A careful pronunciation is:

zhuh lee la kon-vo-ka-syon

More precisely in IPA: /ʒə li la kɔ̃.vɔ.ka.sjɔ̃/

A few tips:

Je sounds like zhuh with a soft j sound, like the s in measure.
lis is pronounced lee. The final s is silent.
la is simply la.
In convocation, the on is nasal in French, so you do not pronounce it like English on.

In everyday speech, je is sometimes reduced, so it can sound a bit like j’lis.

Why is lis spelled with an s if it sounds like lee?

Because it is a form of the verb lire (to read).

In the present tense:

je lis
tu lis
il/elle/on lit
nous lisons
vous lisez
ils/elles lisent

The final s in lis is a spelling marker for the je and tu forms, but it is not pronounced here.

Interestingly:

je lis and tu lis are both pronounced lee
il lit is also pronounced lee

So several forms sound the same, even though they are spelled differently.

What tense is je lis?

It is the present tense: the present indicative.

In French, the present tense can mean:

I read
I am reading

So Je lis la convocation can mean either:

I read the notice/summons
I am reading the notice/summons

The exact meaning depends on context. French often uses the simple present where English might prefer the progressive form am reading.

Why is there la before convocation?

La is the definite article, meaning the.

French nouns normally need an article much more often than English nouns do. Here:

la convocation = the convocation / the notice / the summons

Also, convocation is a feminine noun, so it takes:

la in the singular
une for a/an

So:

la convocation = the convocation
une convocation = a convocation

How do I know that convocation is feminine?

You usually learn the gender together with the noun: la convocation, not just convocation.

A useful pattern is that many nouns ending in -tion are feminine:

la nation
la question
la conversation
la convocation

This pattern is very common, though learning the article with the word is still the safest habit.

Does la change to l’ here?

No. It stays la because convocation begins with a consonant sound.

French uses l’ before a vowel sound or a silent h:

l’école
l’histoire

But here you say:

la convocation

because convocation starts with c, a pronounced consonant.

Is there any liaison in this sentence?

No, there is no liaison between lis and la.

You say:

je lis la... not
je li-z-la...

The s in lis remains silent here.

So the middle of the sentence sounds like:

lee la

Is convocation used the same way as English convocation?

Not exactly.

Even if the meaning has already been given to you, it is useful to know that French convocation is often a formal official notice, summons, or request to appear somewhere.

Depending on context, it might refer to:

a school notice
an administrative summons
a court or police summons
an official meeting notice

So although the word looks familiar to an English speaker, its everyday use in French is often more specific and administrative than English convocation.

Could I also say Je suis en train de lire la convocation?

Yes. That means more specifically:

I am in the middle of reading the notice/summons.

Compare:

Je lis la convocation = I read / I am reading the notice
Je suis en train de lire la convocation = I am reading the notice right now

The longer form emphasizes that the action is happening at this moment. In many normal situations, though, simple Je lis... is completely natural.

Can je sound different in fast speech?

Yes. In careful speech, je is usually pronounced /ʒə/.

In faster, more casual speech, the e can weaken or disappear, especially before another consonant. So:

Je lis may sound closer to j’lis

Both are normal, but for learning and careful pronunciation, /ʒə li/ is a good starting point.

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