Learn Hardcore French: Dans ce club, chacun présente un auteur différent chaque mois. - In this club, everyone presents a different author each month.

dans ce club literally means “in this club” (inside this group/organization).
dans is the normal preposition for being inside a place or organization.

Alternatives:

à ce club would sound wrong here in standard French for “in this club” in the sense of among the members of this club. À is used for:
- destinations: aller au club = to go to the club
- locations as points: je suis au club = I am at the club (as a place)
en ce club is not idiomatic modern French; en isn’t used like that with club.

So dans ce club = “within this club / among the members of this club,” which fits the idea: Among the members of this club, each person presents…

What exactly does « chacun » mean here, and who does it refer to?

Chacun is an indefinite pronoun meaning “each person” / “everyone (considered one by one)”.

Here, it refers to each member of the club.
The idea is: Each (member) presents a different author every month.

Key points about chacun:

It is grammatically singular and masculine, so it takes a singular verb:
chacun présente (not présentent).
It can refer to people of any gender; the masculine form is the default.
When the people are explicitly mentioned, it often refers back to a plural noun:
- Les membres du club lisent beaucoup. Chacun présente un auteur différent.
  “The members of the club read a lot. Each (one) presents a different author.”

Why is the verb « présente » singular and not plural (« présentent »)?

The verb agrees with its grammatical subject, which is chacun.

Chacun is singular → the verb must also be singular.
So we get: chacun présente (3rd person singular of présenter).

Even though in meaning we’re talking about multiple people (all the club members), French grammar treats chacun as “each one (person)”, so the verb is singular.

Compare:

Les membres présentent un auteur.
(Plural subject les membres → présentent.)
Chacun présente un auteur.
(Singular subject chacun → présente.)

What is the nuance of « présenter un auteur »? Does it mean “to introduce” or “to give a presentation on”?

In this context, présenter un auteur usually means “to present an author / to give a presentation on an author”.

It often implies:
- talking about the author’s life,
- explaining their works,
- maybe showing excerpts, etc.

It can also sometimes mean “to introduce an author (to someone)”, but in a club context with chaque mois, it strongly suggests a prepared presentation rather than a casual introduction.

Rough English equivalents:

“Each person presents a different author every month.”
“Each person gives a presentation on a different author every month.”

Why is it « un auteur différent » and not « un différent auteur »? Does the position of « différent » change the meaning?

Yes, in French the position of adjectives often changes the nuance.

un auteur différent (adjective after the noun)
- Core meaning: a different author, a distinct/another author.
- This is the usual way to say that the author is not the same as another one.
- That’s exactly the idea here: each person has a different author from the others.
un différent auteur (adjective before the noun)
- This is unusual and would sound strange here.
- When différent comes before the noun, in plural, it often means “various / several”:
  - de différents auteurs = various authors.
- In the singular, un différent auteur is not idiomatic for “a different author” in this sense.

So un auteur différent is the correct and natural way to say “a different author” here.

Why is « différent » masculine and singular? Should it agree with chacun or with auteur?

Différent agrees with the noun it modifies, which is auteur.

un auteur is grammatically masculine singular.
Therefore, the adjective must also be masculine singular: différent.

The agreement is:

un auteur différent (masc. sing.)
une auteure / une autrice différente (fem. sing.)
des auteurs différents (masc. plural)
des auteures / des autrices différentes (fem. plural)

It does not agree with chacun; adjectives always agree with the noun they describe, not with the subject of the verb (unless the subject and the noun are the same word).

Can « auteur » be feminine? What about « autrice » or « auteure »?

Historically, auteur was used for both male and female authors, but modern usage offers feminines:

une autrice – now quite common and officially recognized.
une auteure – also used, especially in some regions and styles.

So, for a female author, you might see:

Dans ce club, chacun présente une autrice différente chaque mois.
Dans ce club, chacun présente une auteure différente chaque mois.

In many contexts, people still say un auteur even when talking about a woman (especially in older or more conservative usage), but feminine forms are increasingly standard.

What is the difference between « chaque mois » and « tous les mois »?

Both are often translated as “every month”, but there are small nuances:

chaque mois
- Literally: each month, considered individually.
- Slightly more formal or neutral.
- Emphasizes repetition month by month.
tous les mois
- Literally: all the months → “every month” as a whole.
- Very common and natural in speech.
- Emphasizes that it happens regularly, without exception.

In this sentence, you could also say:

Dans ce club, chacun présente un auteur différent tous les mois.

Meaning is practically the same; the difference is minor in everyday use.

Why is « chaque mois » at the end of the sentence? Could it go somewhere else?

Adverbial time phrases like chaque mois are fairly flexible in French. You can say:

Dans ce club, chacun présente un auteur différent chaque mois.
(neutral, very natural)
Dans ce club, chaque mois, chacun présente un auteur différent.
(slightly more emphasis on “every month”)
Chaque mois, dans ce club, chacun présente un auteur différent.
(stronger focus on the time; stylistically a bit more marked)

All are grammatically correct. The original word order (placing chaque mois at the end) is the most common and sounds very natural.

Could we use « tout le monde » instead of « chacun »? What would change?

You could say:

Dans ce club, tout le monde présente un auteur différent chaque mois.

Differences in nuance:

chacun: “each (person) one by one”
- Slightly emphasizes that every individual has their own different author.
tout le monde: “everyone”
- Emphasizes the group as a whole rather than each person individually.
- Grammatically still takes singular:
  - tout le monde présente (not présentent).

In practice, the overall meaning is similar, but chacun makes the idea of individual responsibility/turn stronger.

Why is the article « un » used with « auteur » instead of « le »? Why not « le même auteur »?

Un is the indefinite article (“a / an”), and le is the definite article (“the”).

Here we use un auteur because:

We are not talking about one specific, known author.
Each person chooses one author among many possible authors.
The choice is not determined in advance or shared by everyone.

If you said:

Dans ce club, chacun présente le même auteur chaque mois.
“In this club, each person presents the same author every month.”

This would mean everyone talks about the same author, which is the opposite of un auteur différent. The sentence as given needs un to support the idea of a different author for each person.