The accent marks

[Sarah]

Hello,

Does a student have to remember  each French  word with it's  accent mark?  Are words always written with them? For example; derrière, clé, etc.  

Thanks

[George Hunt]

I don't think you need to use them for capital letters.

Otherwise I think you do need to know and use them.

[stu harris]

Yes, optional on capital letters (I've often wondered why) but e and é are actually considered different letters. They're on different keys on an AZERTY keyboard.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Clavier-Azerty.svg

[Christine]

Yes, you need to use them (though some will say it's false, they're commonly absent from capital letters, as George and stu both stated). They often come from an "historical" "s": écouter coming from escouter.

It gives an indication on how to pronounce the word, and it helps distinguish between words that would otherwise be the same: mur/mûr = wall/ripe, or mémé/même = granny/same.

Better yet: côte/côté/coté/cote = rib (or coast, this one already has two meanings!)/side/rated/value (in stock market)