Learn Hardcore French: Je veux améliorer mon orthographe, alors j’écris chaque phrase une deuxième fois dans mon cahier. - I want to improve my spelling, so I write each sentence a second time in my notebook.

Veux is the present tense of vouloir and expresses a straightforward, definite desire: Je veux améliorer mon orthographe = I want to improve my spelling.

Voudrais is the conditional form and is softer or more polite, like I would like:

Je voudrais améliorer mon orthographe. → more tentative, polite, or hypothetical.

In a simple statement about your own goal, je veux is normal and neutral. Je voudrais would sound more like a polite wish or something you’re saying to someone else (e.g. to a teacher) rather than just stating a fact about yourself.

Why is it améliorer and not j’améliore after je veux?

After vouloir, French uses the infinitive, not another conjugated verb. So the pattern is:

Je veux + infinitive
- Je veux améliorer mon orthographe. = I want to improve my spelling.
- Je veux apprendre le français. = I want to learn French.

If you said Je veux j’améliore, you’d be conjugating two verbs in a row, which is incorrect. One verb (veux) is conjugated; the second one (améliorer) stays in the infinitive.

Why is it mon orthographe when orthographe is feminine?

You’re right that orthographe is feminine: une orthographe correcte.

However, in French, the possessive adjectives mon / ton / son are used before any singular noun that begins with a vowel sound or silent h, even if that noun is feminine. This is to make pronunciation easier.

So:

mon orthographe (not ma orthographe)
mon école (even though école is feminine)
son amie (friend, feminine, but starts with a vowel)

You still know orthographe is feminine from the article in other contexts:

L’orthographe est importante.
Une bonne orthographe.

What exactly does orthographe mean in French?

Orthographe means spelling. It refers to the way words are written correctly according to standard rules.

Examples:

J’ai des problèmes d’orthographe. = I have problems with spelling.
Il a une bonne orthographe. = He has good spelling.
L’orthographe française est difficile. = French spelling is difficult.

It’s normally used in the singular. You don’t usually say des orthographes.

What role does alors play in this sentence, and could I use donc instead?

Here alors means so / therefore / as a result:

Je veux améliorer mon orthographe, alors j’écris…
→ I want to improve my spelling, so I write…

You could say:

Je veux améliorer mon orthographe, donc j’écris chaque phrase…

Donc and alors both often translate as so or therefore, but:

donc is a bit more neutral and can sound slightly more logical/structured.
alors is very common in spoken French and can feel a bit more conversational.

Both are fine here.

Could I say pour améliorer mon orthographe, j’écris… instead of using alors?

Yes, but the meaning shifts slightly:

Je veux améliorer mon orthographe, alors j’écris…
→ describes a consequence: I want to improve my spelling, so (as a result) I write…
Pour améliorer mon orthographe, j’écris chaque phrase…
→ expresses a purpose/goal: In order to improve my spelling, I write each sentence…

Both are grammatical. The original focuses on logical consequence; the pour version emphasizes intention.

Why is it chaque phrase and not chaques phrases?

In French, chaque is always singular and is never pluralized:

chaque phrase = each/every sentence
chaque jour = each/every day
chaque élève = each/every student

If you want a plural idea, you use something else:

toutes les phrases = all the sentences
tous les jours = every day / all the days

So chaques and chaques phrases are incorrect.

What’s the difference between une deuxième fois and deux fois here?

Both relate to two times, but the nuance is different:

deux fois = twice (a total count)
une deuxième fois = a second time (explicitly: once, and then once again)

In the sentence:

j’écris chaque phrase une deuxième fois
suggests you first write the sentence, then you rewrite it a second time as a deliberate exercise.

If you said:

j’écris chaque phrase deux fois,
it’s also correct, but it can sound a bit more neutral about how the repetitions happen. Une deuxième fois highlights the idea of re-writing it again.

Why is it dans mon cahier and not sur mon cahier?

In French, when you talk about writing in a notebook, you usually use dans:

dans mon cahier = in my notebook (inside the pages)

Sur means on the surface of something:

sur mon cahier would literally mean on top of my notebook (e.g. writing on the cover), which is not what you mean here.

So for writing inside notebooks, diaries, exercise books, you use dans:

J’écris les réponses dans mon cahier.

Why is it mon cahier? Is cahier masculine?

Yes, cahier (notebook, exercise book) is masculine:

un cahier, le cahier, mon cahier

That’s why you use mon, not ma.

Compare:

mon cahier (masc.)
ma trousse (my pencil case, fem.)
mon livre, ma feuille

What’s going on with j’écris? Why is there an apostrophe?

The apostrophe is due to elision. When je comes before a verb that starts with a vowel sound or silent h, je becomes j’:

je
- écris → j’écris
je
- habite → j’habite
je
- aime → j’aime

This avoids a clash of vowel sounds and makes pronunciation smoother.

How is écris formed, and which tense is it?

Écris is the present tense of the verb écrire (to write), conjugated for je (I):

Present of écrire:

j’écris – I write / I am writing
tu écris – you write
il / elle écrit – he/she writes
nous écrivons – we write
vous écrivez – you write (formal/plural)
ils / elles écrivent – they write

So j’écris chaque phrase… = I write each sentence… or I am writing each sentence….

Can I move dans mon cahier to another position in the sentence?

Yes, French allows some flexibility. All of these are natural, with slightly different emphases:

J’écris chaque phrase une deuxième fois dans mon cahier. (neutral order)
Dans mon cahier, j’écris chaque phrase une deuxième fois. (emphasis on in my notebook)
J’écris dans mon cahier chaque phrase une deuxième fois. (still acceptable, slightly different rhythm)

The original word order (manner + time + place all together at the end) is very typical and clear.

Is there any liaison or special pronunciation I should know in this sentence?

Key points:

Je veux → veux ends with silent x, so no extra sound: roughly zhuh vuh. No liaison into améliorer.
améliorer → stress on the last syllable: a-mé-lio-ré.
alors j’écris → many speakers don’t pronounce the s of alors here; usually no liaison: roughly alor jécri.
chaque → the final e is silent: sounds like shak.
cahier → ka-yé (two syllables).

There are no required tricky liaisons in this sentence; it’s mostly a matter of getting the vowel sounds and silent letters right.