Learn Hardcore French: Marie n'est pas malade aujourd'hui.

Because French drops the e of ne before a vowel sound or silent h, replacing it with an apostrophe. So ne est becomes n’est to make pronunciation smoother.

Why do we need both ne (or n’) and pas to make a negation?

Modern French negation is a two-part construction: ne (or n’) before the verb and pas after. Omitting pas would either leave the sentence unnegated or sound archaic/poetic.

Why is there no article before malade in “Marie n’est pas malade”?

Here malade functions as an adjective describing Marie’s condition. After être, adjectives of state do not require an article. If you added un or une, you’d turn malade into a noun (“a sick person”).

Can we move aujourd’hui to the front of the sentence?

Yes. You can say Aujourd’hui, Marie n’est pas malade. French allows time adverbs at the beginning or end. Placing it first highlights the time aspect.

How do I pronounce aujourd’hui correctly?

It’s pronounced [oʒuʁdɥi]. The h is silent, j sounds like the s in vision, and ui is [ɥi], a rounded vowel moving into [i].

Could I say Elle n’est pas malade aujourd’hui instead?

Yes. Replacing Marie with elle (“she”) works if the person is clear from context: Elle n’est pas malade aujourd’hui.

Why is there a hyphen in n’est, but not in pas?

The hyphen links the elided ne (n’) directly to the verb est. Pas remains a separate word following the verb, so no hyphen is used there.

What tense is n’est in?

It’s the third-person singular present tense of être (“to be”) in its negative form, composed of ne + est + pas.

How would I ask “Is Marie not sick today?” in French?

Use subject–verb inversion with hyphens:
Marie n’est-elle pas malade aujourd’hui ?

Is the sentence formal or informal?

It’s neutral. You can use Marie n’est pas malade aujourd’hui in both formal and informal contexts without any change.