This document discusses the different accent marks used in the French language - accent aigu, accent grave, accent cedilla, accent circumflex, and accent trema. It provides details on which letters each accent mark is used with and how it affects pronunciation. It also lists the keyboard shortcuts to type each accented letter on Windows. In summary, the document outlines the five main accent marks of French, where they are used, their impact on pronunciation, and how to type them.

1. LES ACCENTS
en français

2. ACCENT AIGU (/)
• Occurs over the letter “e” - é
• Goes up, from left to right
• Makes the sound /e/ - like we pronounce the letter “A” in English
• Example - enchanté

3. ACCENT GRAVE ()
• Occurs over the letters “a,” “e,” & “u” - à è ù
• Goes down, from left to right
• Over “e” it makes the sound /ε/ - which sound somewhat like “eh”
• Over “a” and “u” it does not have sound, but is used to distinguish
two words that are otherwise spelled the same
• à ╪ a
• où ╪ ou
• Examples – là, très, où

4. ACCENT CEDILLA (,)
• Occurs under the letters “c,” - ç
• Looks like small “s” or curve
• Softens a “c” from a hard sound, /k/, to a soft sound, /s/
• Example – ça va

5. ACCENT CIRCUMFLEX (^)
• Occurs over the letters “e,” “i,” “u” and “o” - ê î û ô
• Looks like an arrow pointing up
• Does not have a sound, but indicates that at some point a word was
spelled with an “s,” that as since been dropped from the spelling
• Example – bientôt, août

6. ACCENT TREMA (..)
• Occurs over the letters “e,” and “i” - ë ï
• Looks like a colon on top of a letter
• Indicates that two vowels are pronounced separately
• Example – Noël

7. LES ACCENTS FRANÇAIS
Names Letters Purpose Keyboard Shortcuts
Accent aigu é
Makes the sound /e/ - like we pronounce the
letter “A” in English
Alt + 130
OR
Ctrl + apostrophe
release, then e
Accent grave à è ù
* Over “e” it makes the sound /ε/ - which sound
somewhat like “eh”
* Over “a” and “u” it does not have sound, but is
used to distinguish two works that are otherwise
spelled the same
Alt + 133 – à
Alt + 138 – è
Alt + 151 – ù
OR
Ctrl + tilde
release, then letter
Accent cedilla ç
Softens a “c” from a hard sound, /k/, to a soft
sound, /s/
Alt + 135 – ç
OR
Ctrl + comma
release, then c
Accent circumflex
ô ê î
Does not have a sound, but indicates that at
some point a word was spelled with an “s,” that
as since been dropped from the spelling
Alt + 147 – ô
Alt + 136 – ê
Alt + 140 – î
OR
Ctrl + shift + ^
release, then letter
Accent trema
ë ï Indicates that two vowels are pronounced
separately
Alt + 137 – ë
Alt + 139 – ï
OR
Ctrl + shift + :
release, then letter
• Accent marks
are an important
part of spelling
and
pronunciation
• Omitting an
accent can
change the
meaning of a
word.