Tu dois noter l'heure dans ton agenda.

You must write down the time in your planner.

Breakdown of Tu dois noter l'heure dans ton agenda.

• tu: you
• ton: your
• dans: in
• devoir: must
• l'heure: the time
• l'agenda: the planner
• noter: to write down

Questions & Answers about Tu dois noter l'heure dans ton agenda.

What nuance does tu dois have here—does it mean must or have to?

Tu dois is the present of devoir and expresses a personal obligation: you must/you have to. It’s fairly strong. A more neutral, impersonal way is Il faut noter l’heure dans ton agenda (one needs to/it’s necessary to). For a general rule, French often uses il faut; for a specific person, devoir is common.

How would I say should instead of must?

Use the conditional of devoir: Tu devrais noter l’heure dans ton agenda (you should). It’s softer and suggests advice rather than obligation.

Why use noter and not écrire, inscrire, or marquer?

• Noter = to jot down/record briefly; it’s the most idiomatic for adding something to a planner.
• Écrire = to write (general). Tu dois écrire l’heure is correct but less idiomatic for a planner note.
• Inscrire = to register/enroll/write formally on a list or form; sounds too formal here.
• Marquer can mean to mark/indicate; less natural than noter in this context.

What does agenda mean in French? Is it a false friend?

Yes, it’s a false friend. Un agenda = a diary/planner (the book where you write appointments).
English agenda = list of topics for a meeting → French: l’ordre du jour.
A schedule/timetable → French: l’emploi du temps or l’horaire.
A wall calendar → un calendrier.

Why is it l’heure and not something with temps?

Heure refers to clock time (the hour/time of day). Temps is time in the abstract (duration, the concept of time, weather time). So “note the time (of the event)” = noter l’heure, not noter le temps.

Why the apostrophe in l’heure?

It’s elision: la heure becomes l’heure because heure starts with a vowel sound. The initial h in heure is an “h muet,” so it behaves like a vowel. Note that heure is feminine: une heure, l’heure, des heures.

Can I drop the article and say noter heure?

No. French almost always needs a determiner. You say noter l’heure, noter une heure, or noter l’heure précise, but not bare noter heure.

Why dans ton agenda and not sur ton agenda?

You write “in” a notebook/diary → dans.
You write “on” a surface (a whiteboard, a wall calendar) → sur: sur le calendrier. With agenda (a bound planner), French uses dans.

Why ton and not ta or votre?

• Ton is the informal singular “your,” and agenda is masculine: un agenda → ton agenda.
• Formal or plural “your” is votre: Votre devez noter l’heure dans votre agenda.
• Reminder: before a feminine noun starting with a vowel sound, French uses mon/ton/son (not ma/ta/sa) for ease of pronunciation: e.g., ton heure (not ta heure).

How do I make the sentence more formal or polite?

• Formal subject: Vous devez noter l’heure dans votre agenda.
• Politer request forms: Veuillez noter l’heure dans votre agenda. / Merci de noter l’heure dans votre agenda. / Pourriez-vous noter l’heure dans votre agenda ?

Where does the object pronoun go if I replace l’heure with “it”?

With devoir + infinitive, the object pronoun goes before the infinitive:

• Tu dois la noter dans ton agenda. (la = l’heure)
  Avoid Tu la dois noter in standard usage; it’s not the preferred placement.

How do I say it in the negative? Does ne… pas mean “don’t have to”?

• Tu ne dois pas noter l’heure… = you must not (prohibition).
  To express “don’t have to,” use:
• Tu n’as pas besoin de noter l’heure… or Tu n’es pas obligé de noter l’heure…

Can I move the place phrase to the front?

Yes, for emphasis or style: Dans ton agenda, tu dois noter l’heure. The meaning stays the same; it just foregrounds the location.

How do I pronounce the sentence?

IPA: [ty dwa no.te l‿œʁ dɑ̃ tɔ̃ aʒɛ̃da]
Roughly: “too dwah no-tay luhr dahn tohn ah-zhen-DAH.”
Notes: final s in dois is silent; an in dans is a nasal vowel; g in agenda sounds like the “s” in “vision” (ʒ).

Does à l’heure appear here? Isn’t that “on time”?

Different meaning. À l’heure = “on time” (e.g., arriver à l’heure). In your sentence, l’heure is “the time (of day)” as a noun object. Don’t confuse l’heure with à l’heure.

How do I include the actual time (e.g., 3 p.m.)?

• 24‑hour style is common: Tu dois noter 15 h dans ton agenda. (also 15h or 15h00)
• 12‑hour style adds part of day: Tu dois noter 3 h de l’après-midi dans ton agenda.
  To say the event is at 3 p.m., you can also write: Tu dois noter que c’est à 15 h dans ton agenda.