Pronunciation difference tient // tiennent

S S.A1Kwiziq community member

I notice there's a subtle difference in the 'e' sound between
il/elle tient and
ils/elles tiennent

Could you explain that a little?

Asked 5 hours ago

CécileKwiziq Native French TeacherCorrect answer

Bonjour SS,

I am afraid there's not a subtle but a massive difference between tient and tiennent.

1. Tient is one syllable and sounds like 'bien', 'rien,' or 'chien'.

2. Tiennent is two syllables - tiè/nne and sounds like 'viennent' ( from venir) or Vienne ( Vienna)

Not sure if this helps, but hard to explain in words only.

Like01 hour ago

S S. asked:

I notice there's a subtle difference in the 'e' sound between
il/elle tient and
ils/elles tiennent

Could you explain that a little?

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