Learn Hardcore French: Chaque professeur prononce ce mot différemment. - Each teacher pronounces this word differently.

You never say chaques professeurs or use a plural verb after chaque. Even though logically you’re thinking of many teachers, French treats them one by one grammatically.

What is the difference between chaque professeur prononce… and tous les professeurs prononcent…?

Both refer to all teachers, but the nuance is different:

Chaque professeur prononce ce mot différemment.
Focus on individuals: teacher A has one pronunciation, teacher B another, etc. It emphasises variation from person to person.
Tous les professeurs prononcent ce mot différemment.
Focus on the group as a whole: as a general statement about all teachers, they (collectively) pronounce it differently (from some standard or from other people).

Grammatically:

chaque professeur → singular → prononce
tous les professeurs → plural → prononcent

Why is there no article before chaque professeur?

Chaque is itself a determiner (like each in English), so it replaces an article:

English: each teacher (not the each teacher)
French: chaque professeur (not le chaque professeur or un chaque professeur)

After chaque, you go directly to the noun; you don’t add le / la / les / un / une / des.

Is professeur always masculine? How do you talk about a female teacher?

Traditionally, professeur is grammatically masculine and was used for both men and women:

C’est un professeur. (about a man or a woman)

More and more, especially in modern, inclusive usage, you also see:

une professeure (feminine form, with final -e)
or une professeur (feminine article, masculine noun form)

In everyday speech, many people avoid the issue by using the shortened form prof:

C’est ma prof de français. (clearly feminine because of ma)
C’est mon prof de français. (masculine)

So the grammar here is simple: you can safely think of professeur as “the word for teacher (at secondary/university level)”, and the context/articles show the gender.

Can I say chaque prof instead of chaque professeur?

Yes, but the register changes.

chaque professeur – neutral, standard, suitable for writing and formal speech
chaque prof – informal/colloquial, very common in spoken French

Meaning-wise, they are the same. Choose based on how formal you want to sound.

Why is it ce mot and not cet mot or something else?

Ce is the masculine singular demonstrative determiner used before a consonant sound:

ce mot (masculine singular, starts with consonant m)
cet élève (masculine singular, starts with vowel é)
cette phrase (feminine singular)
ces mots (plural)

You use ce mot when you are pointing to or specifying this/that word in particular.
You would not say cet mot, because mot starts with a consonant, and cet is only for masculine words starting with a vowel or mute h.

Why use ce mot and not something like ceci or cela?

Ce mot points to a specific noun (mot, “word”).
Ceci / cela / ça refer to an idea, a whole sentence, or something more vague:

Chaque professeur prononce ce mot différemment.
→ We’re talking about one particular word.
Chaque professeur le dit différemment.
→ le replaces ce mot.
Chacun dit cela différemment.
→ cela is more like that (thing), not specifically “that word”.

So if you want to stress “this word” as a concrete word in the sentence, ce mot is the normal choice.

Why doesn’t différemment agree with professeur or mot?

Because différemment is an adverb, not an adjective.

Adjectives agree with the noun:
- un mot différent / des mots différents
- une prononciation différente / des prononciations différentes
Adverbs never agree; they are invariable:
- il parle différemment
- ils parlent différemment
- elle prononce ce mot différemment
- elles prononcent ce mot différemment

In all cases above, différemment stays exactly the same.

How is the adverb différemment formed from différent?

The base adjective is différent (“different”).
Many French adverbs of manner are formed by adding -ment to an adjective. For adjectives ending in -ent, the spelling changes to -emment:

différent → différemment
récent → récemment
patient → patiemment

So:
différent → drop the final -ent, add -emment → différemment.

Note that this is mainly a spelling issue; the ending -emment is pronounced roughly like -amɑ̃.

Could I put the adverb différemment in another position, like prononce différemment ce mot?

Yes, several word orders are possible, with slight differences in emphasis:

Chaque professeur prononce ce mot différemment.
→ The most natural, neutral version. The object (ce mot) comes right after the verb, then the adverb of manner (différemment).
Chaque professeur prononce différemment ce mot.
→ Also correct; a bit more emphasis on the manner linked closely to the verb, with ce mot tagged on at the end.

If ce mot is replaced by a pronoun, the adverb must go after the verb+pronoun block:

Chaque professeur le prononce différemment.
(You cannot say prononce différemment le.)

Why is it prononce and not prononcent or prononcer?

The verb is prononcer (to pronounce).
Here, the subject is chaque professeur, which is 3rd person singular, so you use the present tense singular form:

je prononce
tu prononces
il / elle / on prononce
nous prononçons
vous prononcez
ils / elles prononcent

Since chaque professeur is grammatically like il / elle (singular), the correct form is prononce:

Chaque professeur prononce ce mot différemment.

Prononcent would be used with a plural subject like les professeurs or tous les professeurs:

Tous les professeurs prononcent ce mot différemment.

Could I replace ce mot with a pronoun? How would the sentence look?

Yes, you can replace ce mot with a direct object pronoun le (because mot is masculine singular):

Chaque professeur prononce ce mot différemment.
→ Chaque professeur le prononce différemment.

A few points:

le goes right before the verb: le prononce.
The adverb différemment stays after the verb (and pronoun): le prononce différemment.
You cannot put différemment between le and prononce.