Learn French: Ils dînent toujours à huit heures. - They always have dinner at eight o'clock.

Ils dînent toujours à huit heures.

They always have dinner at eight o'clock.

Breakdown of Ils dînent toujours à huit heures.

ils

they (masculine/mixed)

the hour / o'clock (f)

Questions & Answers about Ils dînent toujours à huit heures.

Why use the verb dînent here instead of saying they mangent le dîner?

In French, it is much more natural to use the verb form of the meal itself. The verb dîner means 'to have dinner' all on its own. You will also see this with déjeuner (to have lunch) and petit-déjeuner (to have breakfast).

Why is toujours placed after the verb? English puts 'always' before the verb.

Adverbs like toujours (always), souvent (often), and déjà (already) are placed immediately after the conjugated verb in French. You can never separate the subject pronoun (ils) and its verb (dînent) with an adverb.

Since dînent is plural, do I pronounce the -ent at the end?

No, the -ent ending on conjugated verbs is always completely silent in French. You pronounce ils dînent exactly the same way you would pronounce the singular il dîne.

Why do we use heures here instead of temps for 'o'clock'?

When referring to specific times on the clock, French always uses heures (literally 'hours'). The word temps refers to time in a general, measurable sense, like having enough time to finish a task.