Learn Hardcore French: Paul est présent au cours de français aujourd'hui. - Paul is present at the French class today.

Paul est au cours de français aujourd'hui.
→ Simply states that Paul is at French class today (his location / activity).
Paul est présent au cours de français aujourd'hui.
→ Emphasizes that Paul is present, i.e. not absent, often in a context like taking attendance.

So est présent makes it sound more like “Paul is present in French class today (he showed up, he’s marked present).”
Without présent, it’s more neutral, just describing where he is.

What kind of word is présent in this sentence, and how does it agree?

Here, présent is an adjective meaning “present (not absent).”

It agrees in gender and number with the subject:
- Paul est présent. (masculine singular)
- Marie est présente. (feminine singular)
- Paul et Marie sont présents. (masculine plural or mixed group)
- Les filles sont présentes. (feminine plural)

In the sentence Paul est présent au cours de français aujourd'hui, présent is masculine singular because Paul is masculine singular.

What exactly does au mean in au cours de français?

Au is a contraction of à + le:

à = “at / to / in”
le = masculine singular definite article “the”

So:

à + le cours → au cours

Literally: “at the course / at the class”.

We use au instead of writing à le, which is not allowed in standard French; it must contract to au.

Why is it cours de français and not cours français or cours du français?

In French, to say “a [subject] class,” we usually use:

un cours de [subject]
- un cours de français = a French class
- un cours d'histoire = a history class
- un cours de mathématiques = a math class

So:

cours de français = “class of French” (French is the subject of the class).

We normally do not say:

❌ cours français (unnatural in this meaning)
❌ cours du français (would sound like “lesson of the French language” in a more technical or unusual sense; not the standard way to say “French class” at school)

Therefore, un cours de français / au cours de français is the natural school/university expression.

Why is français not capitalized, when French is capitalized in English?

Capitalization rules are different in French:

Names of languages are written with a lowercase letter:
- le français, l'anglais, l'espagnol
Nationalities used as nouns or adjectives are also lowercase:
- un Français (a Frenchman) → noun referring to a person is capitalized
- un élève français (a French student) → adjective is lowercase

In cours de français, français is the name of the language (a common noun), so it is not capitalized.
English capitalizes French, but French writes français with a lowercase f.

Why is it de français and not du français after cours?

Because here français is used in a general, non-specific way as a school subject:

un cours de français = a French course (subject: French)

When naming school subjects, we generally use de + [subject]:

un cours de biologie
un cours de physique
un cours de français

Du français (de + le) would point to something more specific or definite, like “of the French [language]”, and is less natural in this everyday “French class” meaning.

Can we also say en cours de français instead of au cours de français? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can, and there is a nuance:

au cours de français
Focuses more on the place/event: “at the French class.”
en cours de français
Often feels more like “during French class” / “in French class (at that moment)”.

Examples:

Paul est présent au cours de français aujourd'hui.
→ He is present at today’s French class (on the attendance list).
Paul parle beaucoup en cours de français.
→ He talks a lot during French class.

Your original sentence with en would still be understood and accepted, but au cours de français matches the idea “present at the class” very well.

Why is cours used here and not classe? Aren’t both “class” in English?

Both exist in French, but they do not mean exactly the same thing:

un cours
= a lesson / class session / subject
→ Focus on the instruction itself (the teaching, the period, the subject).
- un cours de français = a French lesson / class
- assister à un cours = to attend a class
une classe
= a group of students, or sometimes the classroom
→ Focus on the group or room.
- une classe de 30 élèves = a class of 30 students
- la classe de 3eA = the 9th-grade A class

So au cours de français means “at the French lesson / French class session,” which is correct here.

Can aujourd'hui go in another place in the sentence, or must it be at the end?

Aujourd'hui (today) is quite flexible in French. All of these are possible:

Paul est présent au cours de français aujourd'hui.
Aujourd'hui, Paul est présent au cours de français.
Paul, aujourd'hui, est présent au cours de français. (more marked/emphatic)

The most neutral versions are:

Aujourd'hui, Paul est présent au cours de français.
Paul est présent au cours de français aujourd'hui.

Placing aujourd'hui at the very beginning adds a bit of emphasis on today.

How do you pronounce the tricky parts: Paul, est, présent, cours, français, aujourd'hui?

Approximate pronunciations using English sounds:

Paul → roughly “pohl” (like “pole” but with a more rounded o); final l is usually pronounced lightly.
est → “eh”; the final t is silent here.
présent → “pray-zahn”
- pré like “pray”
- sent like “zahn” (nasal an sound, final t silent)
cours → “koor”; final s is silent.
de → “duh” (very short, unstressed).
français → “frahn-seh”
- fran with nasal an sound (not “fran-say”)
- final s is silent
aujourd'hui → “oh-zhoor-dwee”
- au = “oh”
- jour = “zhoor”
- d'hui = “dwee”

Spoken smoothly:
Paul est présent au cours de français aujourd'hui →
Pohl eh pray-zahn oh koor duh frahn-seh oh-zhoor-dwee.