afghandoctor

[drifting drum]

Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

Pro tip: you can rename the thread title with `.tr <thread name>`

Make it descriptive, including relevant context, but also to the point. This way you improve your chances of getting a more relevant and specific answer.

[vale hinge]

mainly the -t- bit, i've never seen it before

[frozen wasp]

These are euphonic Ts that are required for inversion

Qu'en pense-t-il ?

A-t-elle mangé ?

[vale hinge]

to place emphasis?

[frozen wasp]

Nope, to avoid hiatus

French hates hiatus

[vale hinge]

this is opening a can of worms

what is hiatus

[frozen wasp]

The little pause you have to make between two vowel sounds

Try saying "a elle"

You have to make a little pause between them

[vale hinge]

Ooooh

that makes much more sense

[tough geyser]

In general, a hiatus is any kind of break or interruption.

(In case you encounter it in the future outside of the context of French pronunciation.)

[carmine canopy]

A similar – though unrelated– phenomenon happens with the possessives. Because the feminine possessive ends in a vowel for the singular possessors (ma, ta, sa), if it meets a feminine noun/adjective starting with a vowel, the possessive will become the masculine form.
Examples:
« ma » + « école » becoming « mon école » to avoid hiatus between the possessive « ma » and the noun « école » starting in a vowel.
« sa » + « ancienne maison » becoming « son ancienne maison » to avoid hiatus between the possessive « sa » and the adjective « ancienne » starting with a vowel.

[vale hinge]

Does this always happen?

[carmine canopy]

For possessives, yes, it will always happen when you have a singular possessor (ma, ta, sa) meeting a word – be it noun or adjective – beginning with a vowel.

Preventing hiatus is also why the definite article changes to « l’ » when the noun starts with a vowel like « l’école (la + école), l’orteil (le + orteil) ».