The letter G

Question

Why is it that some words that begin with G have a hard G sound like the word "Grande" and others have the soft G sound like "Gerente"??

Answer 1

Hi and welcome to the forum.

If the letter G takes e or i after it, it is pronounced like gerende

If it takes a, u, o or one of the consonant letters it's pronounced like grande.

And, if you see this: gui - gue it's pronounced like guitarra

ist should be it's - pesta, Dec 14, 2010

Answer 2

Why is it that some words that begin with G have a hard G sound like the word "Grande" and others have the soft G sound like "Gerente"??

Look at these "rules":

Before e and i you get "germ" and "gist".

Before a, o, u and consonant, you get "gas", "gone", "gum" and "grant".

Now in Spanish:

Before e and i you get "gente" and "giro".

Before a, o, u and consonant, you get "gato", "goma", "gusto" and "gramo".

Coincidence?

Spooky!!!! :-D Must be a conspiracy! - Gekkosan, Dec 14, 2010