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In French, elision refers to the suppression of a final vowel (usually "e") immediately before another word beginning with a vowel.
For example, "I love" is "J'aime" (and not "Je aime").
This rule also applies before most of words beginning with a silent "h":
For example, "the man" is "l'homme" (and not "le homme").
There are a few exceptions to this rule, for example "the bean" is "le haricot" (and not "l'haricot")
le"h" de homme est muet tandis que le"h" de haricot est aspiré.Aujourd'hui l'aspiré n'a plus de valeur phonétique mais elle fonctionne comme une consonne devant laquelle il ne faut pas faire l'élision de l'article. C'est le dictionnaire qui nous indique si le "h" est muet ou aspiré.
Right. Please have a look at this link:
I think what you are describing is the difference between a dictionary that may be rather cut and dry, versus a language course that is trying to produce colloquial speakers of French. While both answers are technically correct, "the man" is most likely what people would be referring to when it is used.