Answers
Sep 19, 2020 - 10:33 AM
In general, if it's a negative sentence, you don't pronounce the 's'. If it's a positive sentence you pronounce the 's'.
For example:
Je n'ai plus de papier pour l'imprimante. It's negative because you don't have anymore paper for the printer, so you don't pronounce the 's'.
J'aurai plus de papier pour l'imprimante demain. It's positive (you'll have more paper for the printer by tomorrow) so you pronounce the 's'
As always in French there are some exceptions. If the "plus" is before an adjective that begins with a consonant, it's silent. For example:
Je suis plus grand que toi (i'm taller than you): silent.
Je suis plus agé que toi (i'm older than you): not silent.
You pronounce the "s" when you use "plus" in calculations. For example:
3 + 4: trois plus quatre: not silent. It doesn't matter if the following word starts with a consonnant or not.
In informal conversations, French people tend to remove the "ne" in negative sentences. For example, instead of saying "je suis trop fatigué, je ne peux plus marcher", you will often hear "je peux plus marcher". This doesn't mean that you can walk more, it means that you cannot work anymore, and in that case the s will be silent, this is how you will figure out that it was a negative sentence.
Another example: Je veux plus d'amour. If the "s" is silent, this means "je ne veux plus d'amour (i don't want love anymore). If it's not silent it means "I want more love".
Don't panic, you will get used to this !
For example:
Je n'ai plus de papier pour l'imprimante. It's negative because you don't have anymore paper for the printer, so you don't pronounce the 's'.
J'aurai plus de papier pour l'imprimante demain. It's positive (you'll have more paper for the printer by tomorrow) so you pronounce the 's'
As always in French there are some exceptions. If the "plus" is before an adjective that begins with a consonant, it's silent. For example:
Je suis plus grand que toi (i'm taller than you): silent.
Je suis plus agé que toi (i'm older than you): not silent.
You pronounce the "s" when you use "plus" in calculations. For example:
3 + 4: trois plus quatre: not silent. It doesn't matter if the following word starts with a consonnant or not.
In informal conversations, French people tend to remove the "ne" in negative sentences. For example, instead of saying "je suis trop fatigué, je ne peux plus marcher", you will often hear "je peux plus marcher". This doesn't mean that you can walk more, it means that you cannot work anymore, and in that case the s will be silent, this is how you will figure out that it was a negative sentence.
Another example: Je veux plus d'amour. If the "s" is silent, this means "je ne veux plus d'amour (i don't want love anymore). If it's not silent it means "I want more love".
Don't panic, you will get used to this !
