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Je dois être à l'heure au travail.

Je dois être à l'heure au travail.
I must be on time for work.
FromLesson 19inHardcore French
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Breakdown of Je dois être à l'heure au travail.

je
I
être
to be
le travail
the work
à
at
devoir
must
à l’heure
on time
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“How does grammatical gender work in French?”
Every French noun is either masculine or feminine, and this affects the articles and adjectives used with it. "Le" is used with masculine nouns and "la" with feminine ones. Adjectives also change form to match — for example, "petit" (masc.) becomes "petite" (fem.).

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Questions & Answers about Je dois être à l'heure au travail.

Why do we use devoir + infinitive to express obligation in Je dois être?

Devoir is a modal verb in French that expresses necessity or obligation. When you pair it with another verb, that second verb stays in the infinitive form.
• Je dois = “I have to”
• être = “to be”
Together, Je dois être literally means “I have to be.”

How is devoir conjugated for different subjects?

Here is the present‐tense conjugation of devoir:
• Je dois
• Tu dois
• Il/Elle/On doit
• Nous devons
• Vous devez
• Ils/Elles doivent
Just replace je dois with the correct form for tu, il, nous, etc.

Why is être à l’heure used to mean “to be on time”?

Être à l’heure is an idiomatic expression in French.
• être = “to be”
• à l’heure = literally “at the hour,” but idiomatically “on time”
You can’t say être en temps to mean “on time”; the fixed phrase is être à l’heure.

Why is it au travail instead of à le travail?

In French, à + le contracts to au.
• à le travail → au travail
This contraction is mandatory for masculine singular nouns introduced by le.

What’s the difference between Je dois être à l’heure au travail and Je dois arriver à l’heure au travail?

• être à l’heure focuses on being punctual in general—showing up or being ready exactly on time.
• arriver à l’heure emphasizes the act of arriving at the workplace on time.
Both are correct; choose être for a general state of punctuality, arriver for the action of getting there on time.

Can I say Je dois être à l’heure à mon travail instead of au travail?

Yes, but it’s less common.
• au travail (standard expression “at work”)
• à mon travail (literally “at my work”)
Use au travail for a general “at work” idea; use à mon travail if you really want to stress “my workplace.”

Can I replace travail with boulot or job in informal speech?

Absolutely. In casual conversation, you can say:
• Je dois être à l’heure au boulot.
• Je dois être à l’heure au job.
Boulot and job both mean “work” or “job” but are more colloquial than travail.

How is l’heure pronounced, and why is the h silent?

Heure begins with a mute h (h muet), so you don’t pronounce it.
• l’heure is pronounced [lœʀ].
Because the h is silent, liaison occurs with preceding words (e.g., à + l’heure → [a.lœʀ]).