Le lundi matin, ma classe de français commence à huit heures.

On Monday morning, my French class starts at eight o’clock.

Breakdown of Le lundi matin, ma classe de français commence à huit heures.

• ma: my
• le français: the French
• le matin: the morning
• à: at
• le: on
• de: of
• commencer: to start
• l'heure: the hour
• le lundi: the Monday
• la classe: the class
• huit: eight

Questions & Answers about Le lundi matin, ma classe de français commence à huit heures.

Why is there le before lundi matin? In English we just say “On Monday mornings”.

In French, you normally use the definite article le before days of the week to express a habitual/repeated action.

• Le lundi matin = on Monday mornings / every Monday morning
• Lundi matin (without le) = usually a specific Monday morning, similar to on Monday morning (this one), depending on context.

So Le lundi matin, ma classe… tells us this happens regularly, not just once.

Does Le lundi matin mean every Monday morning or this Monday morning?

By default:

• Le lundi matin = every Monday morning, or Monday mornings in general.
• To talk about this particular Monday morning, you’d say:
  Ce lundi matin, ma classe de français commence à huit heures.
  (This Monday morning, my French class starts at eight.)

So the le signals a regular schedule.

Why aren’t lundi and français capitalized in French?

French capitalization rules are different from English:

• Days of the week are not capitalized in French (unless they start the sentence):
  
  • lundi, mardi, mercredi… (not Lundi, Mardi, Mercredi in the middle of a sentence)
• Languages and nationalities used as adjectives are not capitalized either:
  
  • le français (the French language)
  • un professeur français (a French teacher)

So ma classe de français is correct with a lowercase f.

Why is it ma classe de français and not ma classe française?

These two structures mean different things:

• Ma classe de français
  Literally: my class of French = my French class (the class about the French language).
  Here de français tells you the subject of the class.

• Ma classe française
  Would usually mean my class that is French (for example, a class of students who are French, or a class located in France). It describes the class itself as French, not the subject.

To talk about a language class, you normally say:

• une classe de français or
• un cours de français (even more common for “French course / French lesson”).

What exactly does classe mean here? Could I use cours instead?

In this sentence, ma classe de français most naturally means my French class in the sense of:

• the group of students, and sometimes
• the lesson or period itself (especially in school context).

However, in everyday French, for “a French lesson / a French course,” people often say:

• mon cours de français = my French lesson / course.

So you could also say:

• Le lundi matin, mon cours de français commence à huit heures.

Both are understandable. Cours focuses on the lesson/session; classe often suggests the group (and by extension, their class period).

Why is it ma classe and not mon classe?

Because classe is a feminine noun in French:

• la classe → ma classe (my class)
• If it were masculine (it’s not), it would take mon.

Quick reminder of possessive adjectives:

• mon = my (before masculine singular nouns, or feminine nouns starting with a vowel sound)
• ma = my (before feminine singular nouns starting with a consonant)
• mes = my (before all plural nouns)

Since classe is feminine and starts with a consonant:

• ✅ ma classe
• ❌ mon classe

Why is the verb commence and how is it formed?

The infinitive is commencer = to start / to begin.

In the sentence, the subject is ma classe de français (third person singular), so you use the il/elle/on form of the present tense:

• je commence
• tu commences
• il / elle / on commence
• nous commençons
• vous commencez
• ils / elles commencent

So ma classe de français commence = my French class starts.

Note: you see a special ç only in forms like nous commençons (before a or o) to keep the soft “s” sound. Before e (as in commence), a normal c is already pronounced /s/.

Why is it à huit heures and not something like dans huit heures?

In French:

• à

  • time = at a specific clock time.
  • à huit heures = at eight o’clock
  • à trois heures et demie = at half past three

• dans huit heures = in eight hours (from now), i.e. a duration until something happens.

Also note:

• heure is feminine:
  
  • une heure (one o’clock)
  • deux heures, huit heures (two o’clock, eight o’clock) — plural heures.

How do I say “at 8 a.m.” vs “at 8 p.m.” in French?

You can specify morning/evening or use the 24‑hour clock:

1. Add part of the day:

   • à huit heures du matin = at 8 a.m.
   • à huit heures du soir = at 8 p.m.

2. Use 24‑hour time:

   • à 8 heures (8h00) is understood as morning in many contexts.
   • à 20 heures (20h00) clearly means 8 p.m.

Both systems are common; written schedules often use the 24‑hour clock.

Is the comma after Le lundi matin necessary in French?

When you start a sentence with a time expression like Le lundi matin, you normally do put a comma after it:

• Le lundi matin, ma classe de français commence à huit heures.

It separates the introductory time phrase from the main clause. In very informal writing, some people might omit it, but the comma is standard and recommended.

Can I put the time expression in a different place in the sentence?

Yes. French is flexible with time phrases. All of these are possible (with slightly different emphasis):

• Le lundi matin, ma classe de français commence à huit heures.
• Ma classe de français commence à huit heures le lundi matin.
• Ma classe de français, le lundi matin, commence à huit heures. (more marked, often spoken)

The most neutral/common choices here would be:

• At the beginning: Le lundi matin, …
• Or at the end: … commence à huit heures le lundi matin.

Could I say Les lundis matins instead of Le lundi matin?

You might hear:

• Les lundis matin or les lundis matins in some contexts (both plurals are seen),

  but for the idea of a regular weekly schedule, French more commonly uses the singular with le:

• Le lundi matin, ma classe…
  (literally: The Monday morning, my class… → meaning on Monday mornings.)

So Le lundi matin is the most natural and standard way to express a repeated action here.