Pronunciation of e in French

In standard French the letter e is often silent. This is especially true when it is word-final as in monde (world). In certain cases, the e is retained and in others it is deleted. Retention or deletion depends on the rapidity of speech, stylistic emphasis and the consonants which precede and follow the e.

The e is dropped when it is preceded by a single consonant:

épicerie (grocery)
lentement (slowly)
rapidement (quickly)

The e is retained if two consonants precede it:

appartement (apartment)
exactement (exactly)
gouvernement (government)

With certain sequences of words which occur frequently, deletion is common but not necessary. The e e is often deleted in le, me and ne.

Il me comprend. (He understands me)
Je le sais. (I know it)
Je ne sais pas. (I don't know)

The letter e can only be deleted in unstressed position. When pronounced, it is a mid front rounded vowel, but in Belgian and Canadian French, it is realized as a schwa. The e is retained when deletion results in three consecutive consonants. This can be analzyed as a syllable structure process.