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Nous courons vs nous courrons? Nous courions vs nous courrions? Same with mourir, secourir, accourir, etc...same with vous as for nous.

How do you differentiate between them?

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3 Answers

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The difference can be heard when you make a break between the syllables:

  • "Nous courons" is pronounced: Nous cou-rons
  • "Nous courrons" is pronounced: Nous cour-rons - In this case the 'r' is emphasized because you pronounce it twice.
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I understand the concept but am having a lot of trouble executing it here in my living room. I'll have to hear someone say it. Hopefully it's easier than it sounds. – Aerovistae May 30 '12 at 16:15
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For all these cases, I tend to insist just a bit more on the R when it's doubled. This may vary between regionalisms however.

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And I wonder if the spelling doesn't drive the pronunciation. – Un francophone May 30 '12 at 11:25
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It surely does, but only to disambiguate. For example, I would never pronounce the RR in "carré" the same way as in "mourrons", basically because there is no "caré" to disambiguate from. – Alexis Pigeon May 30 '12 at 11:34
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When speaking normally, that is not reading a poem or a dictation and wanting to help the pupils, the double r are not pronounced (in France at least).

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I do sometimes hear nous courrons not quite rhyming with nous pourrons, as if it was nous *courerons. – Gilles♦ Jun 4 '12 at 19:58
That is a common mistake but of spelling, not of pronunciation: a Google search for courerons' or even courirons' raises quite a lot of results… – Alfred M. Jun 5 '12 at 6:08

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