The pronunciation of "plus" in de plus en plus in the last example (J'ai de plus en plus de mal à me concentrer.) has 's' in both the plus

Question

Is this correct? Because in all other examples only the plus has 's' prononuced as it is followed by vowel 'e'.

Cécile Janty-Davies · Accepted Answer

Hi Mohit, 
Not always but in the expression 'de plus en plus' you can say:
De pluz en plu or de pluz en plusse...
The first 's'  is pronounced as a 'z' because of the compulsory liaison and the second 's' can be pronounced or not.
Hope this helps!

Mohit Mittal · Answer

correction -  Because in all other examples only the FIRST plus has 's' prononuced as it is followed by vowel 'e'.

Cécile Janty-Davies · Answer

Hi Mohit,
Thanks for pointing this out, you can actually say both ...

Mohit Mittal · Answer

Thanks Cecile. Just to confirm - this means that "Plus" can always be pronounced with a 's'?

Yoko Aoki · Answer

I wondered exactly the same thing as Mohit did. I think I was taught that this type of "s" SHOULD NOT be pronounced unless there occurs liaison. 
Is this an exception only for this phrase? Or is it more flexible in general...?

Radhika Shanbhag · Answer

I am still not clear here. in the lesson on -de plus en plus (adverb) lentement, the s of the second plus wasnt pronounced. but in the one above - de plus en plus de mal à.. the second s is pronounced. which one to go with?

Cécile Janty-Davies · Answer

Bonjour Radhika,
In the phrase 'de plus en plus lentement', in the first 'plus ', the -s is pronounced as you liaise it with the following vowel, and the second one isn't pronounced as it is followed by a consonant.
In the case of the phrase on its own, the first one is pronounced, but the second one can be pronounced or not.
I know it seems a bit illogical, but that's French for you!
Bonne Continuation !