Learn Hardcore French: Après une longue journée devant l’écran, mes yeux sont fatigués. - After a long day in front of the screen, my eyes are tired.

jour – the day as a point in time or a unit on the calendar.
- Example: Quel jour sommes-nous ? – What day is it?
journée – the duration of the day, how it is experienced or used.
- Example: J’ai passé une bonne journée. – I had a good day.

In Après une longue journée, we are talking about the length and experience of the day (“a long day”), so journée is the natural choice. Saying un long jour would sound odd or overly literal in this context.

Why is it devant l’écran and not à l’écran or sur l’écran?

The preposition changes the meaning:

devant l’écran = in front of the screen (your physical position relative to the screen).
- Used to talk about time spent using a computer, TV, phone, etc.
- Very idiomatic: passer la journée devant l’écran.
à l’écran = on the screen (what appears on the screen).
- Example: Ce film passe à l’écran. – This film is showing on screen.
sur l’écran = on the screen (literally on its surface or displayed on it).
- Example: Il y a un message sur l’écran. – There is a message on the screen.

Here, the idea is time spent using a device, so French naturally uses devant l’écran.

Why do we say l’écran with the definite article l’? Could it be un écran?

Both are possible, but the nuance changes:

devant l’écran (the screen)
- Usually implies a specific screen you habitually use: your work computer, your TV, your phone screen, etc.
- In context (“after a long day”), it suggests “the screen I’ve been working at all day.”
devant un écran (a screen)
- More general or indefinite: in front of some screen or other.

French also tends to use the definite article for things that are part of your usual environment (the computer, the TV, the phone), where English might sometimes say “the computer,” sometimes “my computer,” sometimes nothing. Here, l’écran sounds very natural.

Why is it mes yeux and not les yeux?

With body parts, French can use either:

mes yeux = my eyes (possessive adjective, explicitly yours)
les yeux = the eyes (definite article, the possessive is understood from the context/verb)

However, which one you use depends on the structure:

With être (as in the sentence):
- Mes yeux sont fatigués.
  Here, you normally use the possessive (mes), because you’re specifying whose eyes are tired.
With avoir or verbs like faire mal:
- J’ai mal aux yeux. – My eyes hurt.
- J’ai les yeux fatigués. – My eyes are tired.
  With avoir, French often uses the definite article (les yeux) rather than a possessive.

So mes yeux sont fatigués is the natural structure with être.

Is J’ai les yeux fatigués also correct? What’s the difference from Mes yeux sont fatigués?

Yes, both are correct and idiomatic, but they are built differently:

Mes yeux sont fatigués.
- Structure: [possessive + noun] + être + adjective
- Slightly more neutral and descriptive.
J’ai les yeux fatigués.
- Structure: avoir + [definite article + noun + adjective]
- Very common in French with body parts and physical states. Many speakers might even find this form more idiomatic in everyday speech.

In practice, you can use either one; the meaning is the same: my eyes are tired.

Why does fatigués end with -s?

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

yeux (eyes) is:
- masculine
- plural

So fatigué must be in the masculine plural form:

masculine singular: fatigué
feminine singular: fatiguée
masculine plural: fatigués
feminine plural: fatiguées

Because yeux is masculine plural, we use fatigués.

Why is longue spelled with -ue at the end?

Longue is the feminine singular form of the adjective long.

masculine singular: long
feminine singular: longue
masculine plural: longs
feminine plural: longues

The noun journée is feminine singular, so the adjective must agree:

une journée → une longue journée

That’s why you see longue with -ue.

What exactly is après doing here, and when would I use après que or après avoir instead?

In this sentence, après is a preposition followed by a noun phrase:

après + une longue journée → after a long day

Other common patterns:

après + noun
- Après le dîner, je sors. – After dinner, I go out.
après que + clause (finite verb) – more formal/complete structure
- Après que je suis rentré, j’ai regardé la télé. – After I came home, I watched TV.
après + avoir/être + past participle – with an infinitive construction
- Après avoir travaillé toute la journée, je suis crevé. – After working all day, I’m exhausted.
- Après être rentré, j’ai mangé. – After coming home, I ate.

Here, since what follows is a noun phrase (“une longue journée”), plain après is the correct choice.

What tense and person is sont in mes yeux sont fatigués?

Sont is:

the present tense
3rd person plural form of the verb être (to be)

Conjugation of être in the present:

je suis
tu es
il/elle/on est
nous sommes
vous êtes
ils/elles sont

So mes yeux sont fatigués = my eyes are tired (present, right now).

Why is there a comma after l’écran? Is it necessary?

The comma separates the introductory phrase from the main clause:

Après une longue journée devant l’écran, → introductory time phrase
mes yeux sont fatigués. → main statement

In French, it is very common (and generally recommended) to put a comma after a fronted adverbial phrase like this. It clarifies the structure and mirrors natural pauses in speech.

In short: the comma is standard and helpful, though in very informal writing some people might omit it. It’s better to keep it.

Would anything change in the sentence if the speaker is a woman instead of a man?

No, nothing in this exact sentence would change:

yeux is masculine plural
fatigués agrees with yeux, not with the speaker

So a man and a woman both say:

Après une longue journée devant l’écran, mes yeux sont fatigués.

What would change with gender is an adjective referring directly to je:

A man: Je suis fatigué.
A woman: Je suis fatiguée.

But here, the adjective refers to yeux, so the speaker’s gender has no effect.