Son frère est parfois impatient aussi, mais il essaie de rester calme.

Her brother is sometimes impatient too, but he tries to stay calm.

Breakdown of Son frère est parfois impatient aussi, mais il essaie de rester calme.

• être: to be
• il: he
• le frère: the brother
• aussi: too
• rester: to stay
• mais: but
• parfois: sometimes
• essayer: to try
• son: her
• calme: calm
• impatient: impatient

Questions & Answers about Son frère est parfois impatient aussi, mais il essaie de rester calme.

Why is it son frère and not sa frère, since frère belongs to a person who might be female?

In French, the possessive adjective (son, sa, ses) agrees with the gender and number of the noun possessed, not with the possessor.

• frère is a masculine singular noun → you must use son.
• So:
  • son frère = his brother / her brother
  • sa sœur = his sister / her sister
  • ses frères = his brothers / her brothers

We cannot tell from son frère whether the owner is male or female; context would have to tell us.

Why is it impatient and not impatiente here?

Adjectives in French agree with the gender and number of the noun they describe.

• The noun is frère, a masculine singular noun.
• Therefore the adjective must be masculine singular: impatient.
• If it were a sister (sa sœur), it would be:
  • Sa sœur est parfois impatiente aussi.

Basic patterns for impatient:

• Masculine singular: impatient
• Feminine singular: impatiente
• Masculine plural: impatients
• Feminine plural: impatientes

Can I change the word order of parfois and aussi? For example: Son frère est aussi parfois impatient?

Yes, French adverbs like parfois and aussi do have some flexibility in position, but the nuance can change slightly.

Your original sentence:

• Son frère est parfois impatient aussi...
  • Emphasis: he is sometimes impatient too (like someone else).

Other possible orders:

• Son frère est aussi parfois impatient...
  • Emphasis a bit more on also: he also is sometimes impatient (among other characteristics, or compared to someone else).
• Son frère est parfois aussi impatient...
  • Can suggest: sometimes he is equally impatient (as someone else).

All three can be understood, but the original is very natural and clear for “His brother is sometimes impatient too, but he tries to stay calm.”

What is the difference between parfois and quelquefois? Could I say Son frère est quelquefois impatient?

Yes, you can say:

• Son frère est quelquefois impatient aussi, mais il essaie de rester calme.

The difference:

• parfois and quelquefois both mean sometimes.
• parfois is a bit more common and more natural in everyday modern French.
• quelquefois is correct, slightly more literary or formal in feel, but still used.

There is no change in meaning in this sentence; it’s just a stylistic choice.

Why is it aussi at the end of the clause: impatient aussi? Could it go somewhere else?

Aussi meaning too / as well often appears:

• At the end of the clause:
  • Il est impatient aussi. = He is impatient too.
• Or right after the verb:
  • Il est aussi impatient. = He is also impatient.

In your sentence, impatient aussi is very natural:

• Son frère est parfois impatient aussi...
  • “His brother is sometimes impatient too...”

If you move aussi earlier, it can change the rhythm or, in some contexts, slightly shift the emphasis, but grammatically it’s still fine:

• Son frère est aussi parfois impatient...

Just be careful at the beginning of a sentence:

• Aussi, son frère est parfois impatient.
  • Here aussi can mean therefore / so in a formal or written style, not “also”. That’s a different use.

Why do we say il essaie de rester calme and not il essaie rester calme or il essaie à rester calme?

The verb essayer (to try) is normally followed by de + infinitive:

• essayer de faire quelque chose = to try to do something
• So: il essaie de rester calme = he tries to stay calm.

Not correct:

• ✗ il essaie rester calme (missing de)
• ✗ il essaie à rester calme (à is the wrong preposition here)

Other verbs that behave similarly:

• décider de faire = to decide to do
• oublier de faire = to forget to do
• promettre de faire = to promise to do

How is essaie formed from essayer? Is there a spelling rule?

Yes. Essayer (to try) is a verb in -yer. In many forms, the y changes to i before a silent ending.

Present tense (one common spelling set):

• j’essaie
• tu essaies
• il / elle / on essaie
• nous essayons
• vous essayez
• ils / elles essaient

Notice:

• essaie / essaies / essaient → y becomes i
• essayons / essayez → y stays because the ending is pronounced

You may also see j’essaye, il essaye etc. This alternative spelling is accepted, but essaie is very common in writing.

Why is it il essaie and not lui essaie?

In French:

• il is a subject pronoun (he), used before the verb:
  • Il essaie de rester calme.
• lui is a stressed (disjunctive) pronoun, used in other positions:
  • After prepositions: avec lui (with him), pour lui (for him)
  • For emphasis: C’est lui qui essaie de rester calme. (He’s the one who tries to stay calm.)

So with a normal subject–verb structure, you must use il, not lui:

• Il essaie de rester calme.
• ✗ Lui essaie de rester calme. (incorrect in standard French as a simple subject, unless you add c’est: C’est lui qui essaie...)

What exactly does rester calme mean? Is it different from être calme or garder son calme?

• rester calme = to stay calm / to remain calm
  • Focus on not changing state: you are calm and you keep being calm.
• être calme = to be calm
  • Simply describes your current state, with no idea of duration or effort.
• garder son calme = to keep one’s cool / keep calm
  • Very close in meaning to rester calme, but often emphasizes self-control a bit more.

In your sentence:

• il essaie de rester calme
  • He is making an effort to stay calm despite feeling impatient.

Why do we use mais here? Could we also use pourtant or cependant?

Mais is the normal coordinating conjunction for but:

• Son frère est parfois impatient aussi, mais il essaie de rester calme.

You could also use pourtant or cependant, but they work a bit differently:

• pourtant and cependant usually come at the beginning of the second clause and sound more formal:
  • Son frère est parfois impatient aussi. Pourtant, il essaie de rester calme.
  • Son frère est parfois impatient aussi. Cependant, il essaie de rester calme.

So:

• mais = the most natural, neutral “but” inside one sentence.
• pourtant / cependant = “however / nevertheless”, more often starting a new sentence and a bit more formal in tone.

How do you pronounce the whole sentence? Are there any tricky parts or liaisons?

Phonetic-style approximation (in IPA-like form):

• Son frère est parfois impatient aussi, mais il essaie de rester calme.
• /sɔ̃ frɛʁ ɛ paʁfwa ɛ̃paʃjɑ̃ osi mɛ il esɛ d(ə) ʁɛste kalm/

Key points:

• Son: nasal vowel /ɔ̃/ (like on said through the nose).
• frère: /frɛʁ/, the final -e is pronounced; r is uvular (in the throat).
• est parfois: usually no liaison between est and parfois; pronounce /ɛ paʁfwa/.
• impatient: nasal -ent at the end: /ɛ̃paʃjɑ̃/ (the final t is silent).
• aussi: /osi/, clear o then si.
• mais: /mɛ/, final -s silent.
• il essaie: /il esɛ/; no liaison, just smooth connection.
• de rester: often /də ʁɛste/; in rapid speech, the e in de may be very weak or almost dropped.
• calme: /kalm/, final -e usually silent in careful speech; l is pronounced.

Is this sentence formal or informal French? Could I say this in everyday conversation?

The sentence is neutral and completely natural in everyday spoken French:

• Son frère est parfois impatient aussi, mais il essaie de rester calme.

You can use it:

• in casual conversation,
• in writing,
• in relatively formal contexts as well.

Nothing in the vocabulary or structure is slangy or overly formal. It’s good, standard French.