How can you tell the difference between "il parle" and "ils parlent"?

Question

As far as I can tell "il parle" and "ils parlent" are pronounced identically. So how can you tell the difference between them? The same goes for "elle/elles"+verb and all other verbs where the third person singular is pronounced the same as the third person plural.Please answer in English only! I am learning French but I can't understand it yet.

Answer 1

You are correct, "il parle" and "ils parlent" are pronounced exactly the same. The only way to differerenciate between the 2 when you hear it is context. Since "il" and "ils" are pronouns, and thererfore replace a noun, you would know who the "il" or "ils" is.

If you use "elle parle" and "elles parlent," it is the same thing.

However, if the verb that follows starts with a vowel, you will be able to differenciate between the singular and the plural when you hear it because you will hear the "z" of the liaison.

Ex: "elles arrivent" will be pronounced "ellezarivent". The same rule applies with il/ils.

Don't get discouraged!

Answer 2

You would be able to tell from the context. If it refers to several people then it would be ils parlent (all male or male and females) or elles parlent (all females)