Learn Hardcore French: Je mets le cahier sur la table.

The form être en train de + infinitive (e.g. Je suis en train de mettre…) is possible but heavier and used only when you really want to emphasize that the action is in progress right now. In everyday speech, je mets is enough.

How is the verb mettre conjugated in the present tense?

Mettre is irregular. In the present indicative:

je mets – I put
tu mets – you put (singular, informal)
il / elle / on met – he / she / one puts
nous mettons – we put
vous mettez – you put (plural or formal)
ils / elles mettent – they put

Notice the double t in nous mettons and vous mettez, and the double t + -ent in ils/elles mettent.

Why is it mets with an s and not met here?

Because the subject is je (first person singular), you need the je form of mettre, which is je mets.

je mets
tu mets
il/elle/on met

So only the third person (il/elle/on) uses met without s.
With je, you must write mets.

Why do we say le cahier and not just cahier without an article?

In French, almost every common noun needs an article (or another determiner). You usually cannot leave it “bare” the way English can:

English can say: I like school, I like chocolate, I put notebooks on tables.
French normally needs: J’aime l’école, j’aime le chocolat, je mets des cahiers sur des tables.

Here, le cahier means the notebook (a specific one the speakers know about).
If you wanted to talk about any notebook, you’d use the indefinite article un:

Je mets un cahier sur la table.
= I put a notebook on the table.

Why is it le cahier but la table? How do I know the genders?

In French, every noun has a grammatical gender:

le cahier – masculine
la table – feminine

Unfortunately, gender is mostly arbitrary and must be memorized with the noun. A few loose patterns:

Nouns ending in -tion, -sion, -té, -ure are usually feminine (e.g. la question, la liberté, la voiture).
Many short nouns ending in a consonant are masculine, but there are many exceptions.

Best habit: always learn the noun with its article:

un cahier / le cahier
une table / la table

Why do we use sur here? Could we use another preposition like à or dans?

Sur literally means on / on top of, which matches the idea of putting something onto the surface of the table:

sur la table – on the table (on top of it)
dans la table – in the table (inside it; normally doesn’t make sense)
sous la table – under the table
à la table – usually means at the table (as in sitting at a table to eat).

So in this context, sur is the only natural choice: you are placing the notebook on the table’s surface.

Can I change the word order, for example Je mets sur la table le cahier?

You can say Je mets sur la table le cahier, but it sounds marked or more literary. Normal, neutral word order in French is:

Subject + verb + direct object + (place/time info)
Je mets le cahier sur la table.

Moving sur la table before le cahier is possible for emphasis or style, but for everyday speech and writing, stick to:

Je mets le cahier sur la table.

Could I use another verb like poser instead of mettre? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

Je pose le cahier sur la table.

Both are correct, but there is a nuance:

mettre is very general: to put, to place, to put on, etc.
poser focuses more on the action of setting something down, often gently, on a surface.

In many everyday contexts, they are interchangeable. Mettre is more frequent overall and more “default” for putting.

How would I use object pronouns with this sentence (for example, replacing le cahier)?

With direct object pronouns, le cahier (masculine singular) becomes le.

Basic pattern: subject + pronoun + verb + (rest)

Je mets le cahier sur la table.
→ Je le mets sur la table. (I put it on the table.)

If you also want to replace sur la table with y (there), the order is:

Je mets le cahier sur la table.
→ Je le mets sur la table. (replace just the notebook)
→ J’y mets le cahier. (replace just the place)
→ Je l’y mets. (replace both: I put it there.)

Note that le / la / l’ / les come before y in modern standard French: Je l’y mets.

How do I make this sentence negative?

To negate Je mets le cahier sur la table, wrap the verb with ne … pas:

Je ne mets pas le cahier sur la table.
= I am not putting / I do not put the notebook on the table.

In spoken informal French, people often drop the ne:

Je mets pas le cahier sur la table. (very common in conversation)

How is the sentence pronounced, and are any letters silent?

Slow, careful pronunciation:

Je – /ʒə/ (like “zhuh”)
mets – /mɛ/ (like “meh”); the t and s are silent
le – /lə/ (“luh”)
cahier – /ka.je/ (“ka-yeh”)
sur – /syʁ/ (rounded u, not like English “sir”)
la – /la/
table – /tabl/ (the final e is very weak or silent; b and l are pronounced)

Together, naturally: Je mets le cahier sur la table.
= /ʒə mɛ lə ka.je syʁ la tabl/

No liaison is added between mets and le; the s in mets stays silent.