In French, the letter e in the middle of a word is not always sounded. Sometimes you say it, sometimes you don’t. This depends on how the word is built and how fast the speaker is talking. The same rules apply to everyday words and to verbs in different tenses, including the future.

The basic pattern: keeping the rhythm

French likes a steady flow of sounds. It does not like too many vowels in a row, but it also dislikes too many consonants. The middle e often disappears to keep the rhythm smooth.

Take adverbs ending in -ment. They are made from the feminine form of an adjective.

• entièrement (entirely) comes from entière. The last e in entière is the main sound of that syllable. You say it: en-tière-ment.
• normalement (normally) comes from normale. The middle e is weak. In speech, you drop it. You say nor-mal-ment, not nor-ma-le-ment.
• premièrement (firstly) comes from première. The e is part of the sound -ière-, so it is said: pre-mière-ment.
• rapidement (quickly) comes from rapide. You drop the middle e and say ra-pid-ment.

Verbs and the moving e

The same happens with verbs. The e moves in and out of speech depending on its place in the word.

Take acheter (to buy).

• j’achète (I buy) – The e has an accent. It is the strong sound of the syllable chète. You pronounce it.
• nous achetons (we buy) – Written as a-che-tons. The middle e is alone. In natural speech, you drop it. You say nous ach’tons.

The same for appeler (to call).

• j’appelle (I call) – The double l makes the sound. The e is part of it. You say it.
• nous appelons (we call) – Written a-pe-lons. The middle e is weak. You say nous app’lons.

And amener (to bring).

• j’amène (I bring) – The accented e is strong. You say it.
• nous amenons (we bring) – Written a-me-nons. The middle e disappears. You say nous am’nons.

The future tense: same rule, faster speech

In the future tense, the rule does not change. The only question is whether dropping the e makes a sound that is too hard to say. If the result is easy, people drop it. If it is hard, they keep it.

With acheter, the future is nous achèterons. The group -chtr- (from ach’trons) is sh-t-r. That is three consonants, but it is not difficult for a French speaker. So in casual speech, you will often hear nous ach’trons.

• On ach’tra une maison l’année prochaine. We’ll buy a house next year.
• J’acht’rai le pain ce soir. I’ll buy the bread tonight.

With amener, the future is nous amènerons. If you drop the e, you get nous am’nrons. The group -mnr- is m-n-r. Moving from m to n to r is harder. The tongue and lips have to do more work. So most speakers keep the e and say nous amènerons. Or they avoid the form entirely and say on va amener.

• Nous amènerons les enfants à la fête. We will bring the kids to the party.

The verb peser (to weigh) works like acheter. The future je pèserai becomes j’p’serai, and in fast speech, j’pserai.

• Tu pès’ras la farine? Will you weigh the flour?

The verb lever (to lift) has a future je lèverai. Dropping the e gives j’lèv’rai. The group -lv- is easy. So you hear both.

• Je lèverai la main. I will raise my hand. (Clear speech)
• J’l’vrai la main. I’ll raise my hand. (Casual speech)

When the e must stay

If removing the e creates a group of consonants that is genuinely hard to say, the e stays.

The word brusquement (brusquely) comes from brusque. The group -scq- is sk. Trying to say brusq-ment would make brusk-m. The k and m are too different. So you keep the e and say brus-que-ment.

The same for précisément (precisely). From précise. The dropped form pré-cis-ment would make -sm-. That is possible, but many speakers keep the e to separate the sounds. You hear both.

• Il a répondu précisément. He answered precisely. (The e is often kept).

Examples in sentences

Here are common examples showing how the e behaves in real speech.

Words where the middle e is pronounced:

• Il a fait ça entièrement seul. He did that entirely alone.
• Nous irons à Paris premièrement. We will go to Paris firstly.
• Elle achète du pain tous les jours. She buys bread every day. (Feminine activity: shopping for food).
• J’amène mon cousin à la gare. I am bringing my cousin to the station.
• Tu m’appelles ce soir? You call me tonight?

Words where the middle e is silent in normal speech:

• On fait ça normalement. We normally do that.
• Ils avancent rapidement. They are advancing quickly.
• Nous achetons toujours au même endroit. We always buy at the same place.
• Vous amenez le dessert? Are you bringing dessert?
• On s’appelle demain. We’ll call each other tomorrow.
• Elle se maquille méticuleusement. She puts on makeup meticulously. (Feminine activity: beauty, with silent e in méticuleusement).

Future tense with silent e in casual speech:

• On achèt’ra une nouvelle voiture. We’ll buy a new car.
• Tu s’ras là à huit heures? Will you be there at eight?
• J’irai p’t-être à la plage. I might go to the beach. (p’t-être from peut-être)
• Ils s’ront en retard, comme d’habitude. They will be late, as usual.
• On s’ra contents de te voir. We will be happy to see you.
• Elle s’ra à la maison pour le dîner. She will be at home for dinner. (Feminine subject, domestic activity).

Future tense where the e is usually kept:

• Nous amènerons les enfants. We will bring the children. (-mnr- is hard).
• Tu pèseras les légumes? Will you weigh the vegetables? (Often kept, but tu pès’ras is possible in fast speech).
• Ils lèveront le camp tôt. They will break camp early. (j’l’vrai is common, ils lèveront is often kept clear).

Summary

The middle e in French is not a fixed sound. It appears and disappears based on the need for a smooth flow of speech. In the future tense, the same rule applies as in the present. If dropping the e makes a sound that is easy to say, people drop it. Achèterons becomes achèt’rons. If the result is a difficult cluster like -mnr-, they keep the e and say amènerons. Common verbs are shortened more often than rare ones. This is normal, everyday French, not a mistake.