- Clarence High School
- How to type French Accent Marks
Williams, Melanie
Page Navigation
-
How to type French accent marks
On a Windows PC, hold down the Alt key & type the following numbers from the numerical keypad (with Num Lock ON).
à = Alt 133 â = Alt 131 é = Alt 130 è = Alt 138 ê = Alt 136 ë = Alt 137 î = Alt 140 ï = Alt 139 ô = Alt 147 œ = Alt 0156 ù = Alt 151 û = Alt 150 ç = Alt 135 « (quotations) = Alt 174 » = Alt 175 Capital letters may have accents, but they are optional, not required. I suggest that you don't include them in your writing. You may NOT submit your writing typed in all capitals. You will receive no credit for such work!
À = Alt 0192 É = Alt 144 Ç = Alt 128 Œ = Alt 0140
On a Macintosh computer, you should click on the apple on the top left of the screen and open "KeyCaps". This will bring up a little keyboard on the desktop. By holding down the "option key", the accents appear and you can click on them with the mouse. For example, to type ù, you should hold "option", click on (`) and then type u. The accented character will appear.Microsoft Word shortcuts1. Type the acute accent, a diagonal slash angled up and to the right that appears above the letter, by holding down the "CRTL" key while you type the apostrophe key. Let go of those keys, and then type the letter on which you want to place the acute accent. In French, only the letter e can have an accent aigu.
2. Type the grave accent, a diagonal slash that angles above and to the left of the letter, using the "CRTL" and grave keys. On most keyboards, the grave key is to the left of the numeral "1" key near the top of the keyboard. Hold down the "CTRL" key and press the grave accent key. Release those keys, then type the letter you want to place an accent on. In French, only the letters a, e, and u can have an accent grave.
3. Type the circumflex accent, which appears above the numeral "6" key, by holding down the "CTRL" and "SHIFT" keys while you press the "6" key. Let go of those keys and strike the letter that you want to take the accent. In French, all the vowels can have an accent circonflexe.4. Type the cedilla, the letter "C" with a squiggle beneath it, by holding down the "CTRL" key while you strike the comma key. Release those keys and type a "c." Press "SHIFT" and "C" for an uppercase cedilla. La cédille is used only with the letter c to indicate the sound /s/ when it is followed by the letters a, o, or u.
5. Type the dieresis, two dots that appear above a letter, by holding down the "CTRL" and "SHIFT" keys while pressing the colon key. Let go of those keys and type the letter you want to have the dieresis over. Le tréma, is used with vowels (e or i) to indicate that they are pronounced separately from a preceding vowel.In some ways, the easiest thing to do is to go to http://french.typeit.org/ and type your message there. Then cut and paste it where you want it. Just remember to save your work often so that you don't lose it.