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"Es" is for the second person "Tu". "Est" is for the third person "il/elle/on"
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There are conjugation forms for each verb. When you want to know how to conjugate a verb, hover your mouse over it: click on the "conjugate " option, and you'll get a conjugation table.
Please also have a look at this comment:
I can hear the "es" in the sentence, but wasn't the S not supposed to be pronounced in french?
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In French, you have to pronounce liaisons between 2 words, when the first on ends with a consonant (ex: "es") and the second one starts with a vowel (ex: "une") or a "mute H" (ex: "honnête" which means "honest").
For example:
- "Tu es une fille" (You are a girl) sounds like "Tu es-Z-une fille".
- "C'est une fille" (She is a girl) sounds like "C'est-T-une fille".
- "Elle est honnête" (She is honest) sounds like "Elle est-T-honnête".
It is my understanding that a liaison is never made with 'es' - the second person singular of the verb 'être'. Therefore, the pronunciation of 'Tu es une fille' is incorrect if the Duolingo robot is pronouncing the 's'. I cannot pull it up at this time to listen. I have never heard it used in a liaison. If I am incorrect, please send some audio examples other than Duolingo. Thank you! You can check the website french.about.com. The other French word that is never used in a liaison is 'et' meaning 'and' in English.
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You are right for "et", but the liaisons are definitely made with "es".
Here is an example of a song where the liaison is clearly made: "si tu es-Z-un homme"
(Remy, the sound quality of this song on YouTube is 'very' poor! I should also qualify my comment by saying that I am only just now beginning to learn French, so of course my ears are not 'attuned' to 'listening' to/in French. Thank you so much for your help in the comment sections!!!
I am a little confused. Does that mean et is ALWAYS pronounced e, no matter what the next word is?
you mean "et" =and? Yes, it's an exception to the liaison rules, "et" doesn't like to enter in a liaison. If you say: "Jean et Alice", there's no liaison between the "t" and the Alice's "a". It's for euphonic reasons. It's an exception, because, in French, the more liaisons, the better, only very very few exceptions.
no. the t at the end of 'et' is never pronounced. Even if the first letter of the next word is a vowel. it always just sounds like the letter 'a' said out loud in english (or 'ay' in bray, if you please)
Tu es une fille = we make the liaison, even if the liaison shouldn't be too strong here, because it's not euphonic.
"es" is a phoneme, its value is "è", as if it is a letter by its own. Except if you have a liaison, if you have one, the following vowel makes the "s" to be heard.
Est is for third person (il) and es is for second person (tu). Je suis Tu es Il est Nous sommes Vous êtes Ils sont
please tell me why should not use "vous etes une fille" instead of "tu es une fille" , i think "une fille" is singular , so using "tu" is a bit weird >.<
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In French, you can use two different pronouns for the second person singular:
- "tu": which is informal (for example if you talk to a child or to a person that you know)
- "vous": which is formal (for example if you talk to an adult or to a person that you do not know)
So you can say "tu es une fille" and "vous êtes une fille", but the first one will be more commonly used, since "une fille" refers to a child.
"tu" is not weird. Vous is plural if you talk to several person, or singular if you want to be polite with someone. Tu es une fille: you are a girl (singular) Vous êtes une fille: you are a girl (singular, polite) Vous êtes des filles: you are girls (plural) and even: Vous êtes des filles: you are girls (plural, polite), but there's no difference between the 2 last forms.
Since French is specific does " tu es une fille" refer to both a big girl eg 18years old as well as to 10 years old- I don't expect that at 10 they are still "les enfants "???
You use tu if the person to whom you are speaking is a close friend/family, or if it's an adult speaking to a child.
A 10 y.o girl is still: "une enfant", as a 10 y.o boy is: "un enfant". Yes, "tu es une fille" can be used for a little girl (you can say: "tu es une petite fille" if you want to be more specific) or for a 18 y.o girl. For a 25 (I say any age, I don't know where is the limit), so, for a 25 y.o female, we would rather say: "tu es une femme", but we can use "tu es une femme" for the 18 y.o female too. It depends who speak, the context, etc...
