Learn Hardcore French: Le soir, j'écris quelques lignes dans mon journal intime avant de dormir. - In the evening, I write a few lines in my diary before sleeping.

So Le soir here means In the evenings / At night (in general), usually for a habitual action.
Forms like dans le soir or au soir are either wrong here or extremely rare/poetic.

What is the difference between le soir and ce soir?

le soir = in the evenings (generally, as a routine or habit)
- Le soir, j’écris… → In the evenings, I write…
ce soir = this evening (today, one specific time)
- Ce soir, j’écris… → This evening, I am writing…

So the sentence with Le soir describes a repeated habit, not a one‑time plan.

What is the difference between soir and soirée? Could I say La soirée, j’écris…?

You cannot say La soirée, j’écris… here.

soir is the neutral word for evening as a point in time (used in time phrases: ce soir, le soir, vendredi soir).
soirée refers more to the duration or experience of the evening, or to a social event (a party, an evening gathering):
- J’ai passé une bonne soirée. – I had a nice evening.
- Je vais à une soirée. – I’m going to a party.

For routines like “in the evenings, I …”, French uses le soir, not la soirée.

Why is there a comma after Le soir?

Le soir is an adverbial time phrase placed at the beginning of the sentence. In writing, it is common (and clearer) to separate such a phrase with a comma:

Le soir, j’écris…
Le matin, je bois un café.

In speech, we simply pause briefly there. Grammatically, the comma is not strictly required, but it is standard and natural.

Why is it j’écris and not something like je suis en train d’écrire?

French present tense (j’écris) often covers both:

the English present simple (“I write”)
and sometimes the present continuous (“I am writing”)

Here the sentence expresses a habit, so j’écris corresponds to English I write (in the evenings). Je suis en train d’écrire would mean I am in the middle of writing (right now), which is not the idea here.

What does quelques lignes literally mean, and why use quelques?

quelques = a few / some (small, indefinite number)
- It is invariable: always quelques, never quelques
  - s.
lignes = lines, here meaning lines of writing/text.

So quelques lignes = a few lines (of writing).

If you said des lignes, it would be more neutral: “lines”, without the nuance of “only a few”. Quelques emphasizes the small number.

How do you pronounce lignes, and what is the role of the gn?

lignes is pronounced approximately [liɲ] (LEE‑nyuh, but the final sound is very short).

In French, gn represents a single sound [ɲ] (like the “ny” in canyon or onion).
The final -es is silent in normal speech here. It only matters for grammar/spelling, not for pronunciation.

Why is it dans mon journal intime and not sur mon journal intime?

When you write inside a notebook, diary, or book, French normally uses dans:

écrire dans un cahier / un carnet / un journal – to write in a notebook / journal

Sur is used for writing on a surface:

écrire sur le tableau – to write on the board
écrire sur la table – to write on the table (on the top of it)

A diary is something you open and write inside, so dans mon journal intime is the natural preposition.

What exactly does journal intime mean, and how is it different from just journal?

journal intime = personal diary, where you write your private thoughts and feelings.
- intime here means personal / private, not “intimate” in a romantic sense only.
journal alone can mean:
- newspaper (e.g. un journal = a newspaper)
- log / record, depending on context

So mon journal intime clearly indicates a private diary, not a newspaper.

Why is it mon journal intime and not le journal intime?

French often uses possessive adjectives (mon, ton, son …) where English might use my or sometimes no possessive.

Here, mon journal intime = my diary, which is natural because:

It is an object that clearly belongs to you personally.
Using le journal intime would sound like “the diary” in general, not clearly yours.

Also, journal is a masculine noun, so we use mon, not ma.

Why is it avant de dormir and not just avant dormir?

The structure is:

avant de
- infinitive (same subject)
  - avant de manger – before eating
  - avant de partir – before leaving

You must include de before the infinitive in this pattern.
Avant dormir is incorrect in standard French; it has to be avant de dormir.

When do we use avant de vs avant que?

avant de
- infinitive = when the verb that follows has the same subject:
  - Je me brosse les dents avant de dormir.
avant que
- subjunctive = when a new subject follows:
  - Je me brosse les dents avant que tu dormes. – before you sleep
  - Avant que je parte, dis‑moi la vérité.

In your sentence, the subject I is the same for j’écris and dormir, so avant de dormir is correct.

Could we say avant de me coucher instead of avant de dormir? Is there a difference?

Yes, you could say:

Le soir, j’écris quelques lignes dans mon journal intime avant de me coucher.

Nuance:

dormir = to sleep
se coucher = to go to bed / to lie down

In daily life, avant de dormir and avant de me coucher often overlap, because going to bed is usually followed by sleeping. The original sentence focuses more on before sleeping; the alternative focuses on before going to bed.

Can we change the word order of dans mon journal intime and avant de dormir?

Yes, French allows some flexibility with adverbial phrases. These are also correct and natural:

Le soir, avant de dormir, j’écris quelques lignes dans mon journal intime.
Le soir, j’écris quelques lignes dans mon journal intime avant de dormir. (original)

You typically keep the time phrase (Le soir) at the start, then other details can be moved for emphasis or style.

Is there a difference between Le soir, j’écris… and Tous les soirs, j’écris…?

Both can describe a habit:

Le soir, j’écris… – In the evenings, I write… (habit, but a bit more general)
Tous les soirs, j’écris… – Every evening, I write… (stronger idea of every single evening)

Tous les soirs makes the routine sound more systematic or without exception.