The Use of the Apostrophe in French

What are apostrophes used for in French?

The apostrophe (l’apostrophe) is a sign of elision. It replaces a vowel that is not pronounced. It is used very frequently in French.

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Sign of elision

The following rule applies to the monosyllabic words le, la, de, je, me, te, se, ce, ne, que and si, and to the expressions jusque, lorsque, puisque, quelque, quoique, parce que, quoi que, and tel que.

The apostrophe replaces the vowels e and a at the end of these words when they are followed by a word beginning with a vowel or a silent h (h muet). It also replaces the vowel i when the word si is followed by il.

For words beginning with h, it is important to distinguish between silent h (h muet) and aspirated h (h aspiré). Elision does not occur before an aspirated h, so we say la hâche, le hibou, le haricot. However, elision does occur before a silent h, so an apostrophe is used: l’hôpital, l’histoire, l’homme, etc.

Example:
la + apostrophe → l’apostrophe
la + île → l’île
le + éléphant → l’éléphant
le + ouragan → l’ouragan
le + histoire → l’histoire
si + il → s’il
que + elle → qu’elle
te + aime → t’aime
se + appeler → s’appeler
ne + oublie pas → n’oublie pas
jusque + à → jusqu’à
de + une → d’une

Attention ! An apostrophe cannot be used before the following words: huit, huitième, onze, onzième, oui and words beginning with y.

Example:
J’ai gagné ce concours pour la huitième fois.I have won this competition for the eighth time.
Laura a appris le yoga en Inde.Laura learned yoga in India.

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This rule applies only to the monosyllabic words and expressions listed above. In other cases, the silent e at the end of a word cannot be replaced by an apostrophe.

Example:
Cette femme est très élégante. (not: Cette femm’est très élégante.)This woman is very elegant.

Informal register and song lyrics

In informal language, the apostrophe can be used to reflect the pronunciation of certain words.

Example:
T’as vu la p’tite Lucette ?Have you seen little Lucette?
Tu as vu la petite Lucette ?
V’la qu’la pluie s’met à tomber.There goes the rain starting to fall.
Voilà que la pluie se met à tomber.
B’jour m’dame.Hello, madam.
Bonjour madame.

It is also used to mark the shortening of a word.

Example:
T’en es même pas cap’ ! (Tu n’en es même pas capable !)You’re not even capable!

Finally, the apostrophe is also common in song lyrics. It replaces a final e to show that it is not pronounced and therefore does not count as a syllable.

Example:
Un’ jolie fleur dans une peau d’vache,A pretty flower in a cow’s hide,
Un’ jolie vach’ déguisée en fleur,A pretty cow disguised as a flower,
Qui fait la belle et qui vous attache,Showing off and charming you,
Puis, qui vous mèn’ par le bout du cœur…Then leading you along by the heart… (Georges Brassens, Une Jolie Fleur)