Learn French: Je fais un devoir important. - I am doing an important assignment.

In French, there is no separate "am doing" form. The simple present tense Je fais means both "I do" and "I am doing", depending on the context. You never translate the "am" part when saying you are doing an action right now!

Does the verb faire also mean "to make"?

Yes! The verb faire is a very common French verb that means both "to do" and "to make". Here, Je fais translates to "I am doing", but in a sentence like Je fais un gâteau, it means "I am making a cake."

Wait, isn't devoir a verb that means "must" or "to have to"?

Good catch! Yes, devoir is a very common verb that means "must." However, it is also a masculine noun. When you see it with an article like un (a) or le (the), un devoir means "an assignment," "a duty," or "a piece of homework."

Why does the word important come after the word it describes instead of before it?

In French, most adjectives are placed after the noun they describe. Only a small group of short, common adjectives (usually describing Beauty, Age, Goodness, or Size) go before the noun. Because important doesn't fit into that special group, it follows the normal rule and comes after un devoir.