2007-09-21 23:48:29 · 6 answers · asked by jillian 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
Because when pronounced in isolation, all final consonants in French are silent. If you pronounced the infinitive form of the verb before another word that started with a vowel, the 'r' would show up, but in isolation, or before a pause, or at the end of a sentence, it is not pronounced.
2007-09-22 00:02:18 · answer #1 · answered by Taivo 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If your school taught that '-er' is always pronounced 'air', your school has very bad teachers.
I have never heard any french accent that pronounces all '-er' as 'air', so I assume you aren't supposed to do it. The thing that Taivo mentioned is correct, though.
2007-09-22 01:44:05 · answer #2 · answered by hjh 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I found that too after I left school - different pronunciations !
I only did 3 years of French at school, 2.99 years of which I have forgotten - but I think you will find it should be "ay".
Especially all the VERBS ending in "er".
2007-09-22 00:00:55 · answer #3 · answered by mountie 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because you had bad teachers at school.
Note that the exception Taivo mentions is true of adjectives ending in -er (premier alliance) but not of infintive verbs ("aller" in "aller à la piscine" is still "all-ay").
2007-09-22 00:46:12 · answer #4 · answered by Goddess of Grammar 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
it's ay
edit:every time I'm putting phonetics on here, I get thumbs down;obviously the one who did, speak better my mother language than me;on top of that the following answers agree with mine.
Chaque fois que je mets de la phonétique ici, je récolte des pouce en-bas;apparement l'auteur parle ma langue maternelle mieux que moi;en plus les réponses suivantes sont en accord avec la mienne!!!!
2007-09-21 23:57:25 · answer #5 · answered by Dori 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Simply because every language has its own rules and patterns...
2007-09-21 23:56:19 · answer #6 · answered by skypower 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋