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Je m'endors mal quand il fait chaud.

Je m'endors mal quand il fait chaud.
I don’t fall asleep well when it’s hot.
FromLesson 20inHardcore French
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Breakdown of Je m'endors mal quand il fait chaud.

je
I
quand
when
chaud
hot
mal
badly
me
myself
s’endormir
to fall asleep
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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 m'endors mal quand il fait chaud.

What does je m’endors mal mean literally, and how is s’endormir different from dormir?

Literally, je m’endors mal means “I fall asleep badly” or “I have trouble falling asleep.”

  • s’endormir = “to fall asleep” (the process of going to sleep)
  • dormir = “to sleep” (the state of being asleep)
Why is there an apostrophe in m’endors?
In French, me (the reflexive pronoun) contracts to m’ before a vowel or mute h. So me endors becomes m’endors.
How do you pronounce m’endors? Do you pronounce the final s?

You pronounce it [mə zɑ̃.dɔʁ]:

  • The final s in endors is silent.
  • There is a liaison with the following vowel only if the next word starts with a vowel (here it doesn’t, since “mal” begins with /m/).
Why is il used in il fait chaud? Doesn’t il mean “he”?
In weather expressions like il fait chaud, il is an impersonal subject (“dummy it”). It has no gender or antecedent; it just fills the subject position required by French grammar.
Why do we use faire to talk about the weather in il fait chaud?

French uses faire in many idiomatic weather phrases:

  • il fait beau (it’s nice out)
  • il fait froid (it’s cold)
  • il fait du vent (it’s windy)
  • il pleut (it’s raining)
Could I say je dors mal quand il fait chaud instead?

Yes, but there’s a nuance:

  • je dors mal = “I sleep poorly” (trouble staying asleep or sleep quality)
  • je m’endors mal = “I have trouble falling asleep”
Can I rephrase it as j’ai du mal à m’endormir quand il fait chaud?
Absolutely. j’ai du mal à m’endormir (“I find it hard to fall asleep”) is a very common and idiomatic way to express the same idea.
What role does the adverb mal play, and can I use a different adverb?

mal modifies m’endors (how you fall asleep). You could also say:

  • je m’endors difficilement quand il fait chaud (“I fall asleep with difficulty when it’s hot”)
Why is there no article before chaud in il fait chaud?
In impersonal weather expressions, chaud is a predicative adjective describing the weather, so no article is needed. You’re not talking about “the heat,” just stating “it is hot.”