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Paul termine ses devoirs tôt aujourd'hui.

Paul termine ses devoirs tôt aujourd'hui.
Paul finishes his homework early today.
FromLesson 25inHardcore French

Breakdown of Paul termine ses devoirs tôt aujourd'hui.

Paul
Paul
aujourd'hui
today
tôt
early
ses
his
terminer
to finish
le devoir
the homework

Questions & Answers about Paul termine ses devoirs tôt aujourd'hui.

What tense is the verb termine, and what does it express here?
Termine is the present indicative (3rd person singular of terminer). French present can mean both English simple present and present progressive, so it can be understood as “finishes” or “is finishing,” depending on context.
Why is ses devoirs plural? Isn’t “homework” singular in English?
In French, les devoirs is usually plural when it means “homework” in general. The singular un devoir refers to one specific assignment (e.g., an essay or a test paper).
Does ses agree with Paul or with devoirs?
With the noun. Ses is the 3rd‑person singular possessive used before plural nouns, regardless of the owner’s gender: Paul/Marie termine ses devoirs. For singular nouns: son (masc.), sa (fem.), but note the sound-based rule: before a vowel sound you use son even with a feminine noun (e.g., son amie).
Can I use finit instead of termine?

Yes: Paul finit ses devoirs tôt aujourd’hui is natural. Nuance:

  • terminer = to bring something to an end (slightly more “doer-focused”)
  • finir = to come to an end/finish (very common, also with “de + infinitive”) Both are fine here. Achever is a more formal/literary “to complete.”
Is the present tense okay with aujourd’hui, or should it be past?

It depends on the meaning:

  • Ongoing/plan/commentary today: Paul termine ses devoirs tôt aujourd’hui.
  • Already completed earlier today: Paul a terminé ses devoirs tôt aujourd’hui.
  • “Earlier than usual” idea: Paul termine ses devoirs plus tôt que d’habitude (aujourd’hui).
Where should tôt go? Is Paul termine tôt ses devoirs also correct?

Both work:

  • Neutral: Paul termine ses devoirs tôt aujourd’hui.
  • Slight emphasis on “early”: Paul termine tôt ses devoirs aujourd’hui. You can also front the day: Aujourd’hui, Paul termine ses devoirs tôt. Avoid Paul tôt termine… (unnatural).
What’s the difference between tôt, plus tôt, and de bonne heure?
  • tôt: early (within a day/timeframe) — Il arrive tôt.
  • plus tôt: earlier (comparative) — Il arrive plus tôt (que prévu).
  • de bonne heure: idiomatic “early (in the morning/early on)” — slightly more literary/conservative than tôt in some registers.
How do I negate this sentence?
  • General negation: Paul ne termine pas ses devoirs tôt aujourd’hui.
  • To stress “not early”: Paul ne termine pas tôt ses devoirs aujourd’hui, or simply use the opposite adverb: Paul termine ses devoirs tard aujourd’hui. Note: In casual speech, ne is often dropped: Paul termine pas…
How do I turn it into a yes–no question?

Three common ways:

  • Est-ce que Paul termine ses devoirs tôt aujourd’hui ?
  • Inversion: Paul termine-t-il ses devoirs tôt aujourd’hui ? (insert -t- for euphony)
  • Rising intonation: Paul termine ses devoirs tôt aujourd’hui ?
How do you pronounce the tricky parts?

Approximate IPA:

  • Paul [pɔl]
  • termine [tɛʁmin]
  • ses [se]
  • devoirs [dəvwaʁ] (final -s silent)
  • tôt [to] (final -t silent)
  • aujourd’hui [oʒuʁdɥi] (the h is silent; one word) No liaison in ses devoirs (since devoirs starts with a consonant). The sequence tôt aujourd’hui is fine: [to oʒuʁdɥi].
Why is it termine and not terminent? Doesn’t it agree with devoirs?
The verb agrees with the subject (Paul, singular), not the object (devoirs). Hence Paul termine…, but Paul et Marie terminent… (plural subject).
What’s the apostrophe doing in aujourd’hui? Is it one word or two?
It’s one word with an apostrophe: aujourd’hui. Historically it comes from au jour d’hui (“on the day of today”). The h is mute. Don’t add spaces or hyphens, and don’t capitalize it mid‑sentence.
What does the circumflex in tôt indicate?
It marks a historical change (there used to be an s: tost). It also signals a closed “o” sound [o]. Spelling with the circumflex is standard: tôt.
Do I need a preposition or article with terminer here?
No. Terminer is a direct transitive verb: terminer + noun. So: Paul termine ses devoirs…, not ✗termine de ses devoirs. The possessive ses replaces an article; you wouldn’t add les as well.
How would I replace ses devoirs with a pronoun?

Use the direct object pronoun les before the verb:

  • Present: Paul les termine tôt aujourd’hui.
  • Past: Paul les a terminés tôt aujourd’hui. (past participle agrees with preceding direct object: terminés)
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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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