Learn Hardcore French: Je veux téléphoner à Marie ce soir.

téléphoner à quelqu’un
- Focuses on the act of phoning
- Always uses à + person
- More neutral/standard for “phone someone”
appeler quelqu’un
- Literally “to call someone” (can be by voice, by phone, etc.)
- No à before the person
- In a phone context, it’s very common too

In this sentence, both are fine:

Je veux téléphoner à Marie ce soir.
Je veux appeler Marie ce soir.

They mean almost the same in everyday speech.

Why is it Je veux téléphoner with an infinitive after veux?

In French, certain verbs (like vouloir, pouvoir, devoir, aller) are often followed by an infinitive to express what you want/are able/have to/are going to do.

Structure here:

Je veux (I want) + téléphoner (to phone)

So:

Je veux téléphoner à Marie. = I want to phone Marie.

This is the same pattern as:

Je peux venir. = I can come.
Je dois partir. = I must leave.
Je vais manger. = I am going to eat.

Can I say Je vais téléphoner à Marie ce soir instead? What is the difference with Je veux téléphoner…?

Yes, you can say:

Je vais téléphoner à Marie ce soir.

The difference:

Je veux téléphoner…
- Emphasizes desire or intention: I want to call Marie tonight.
Je vais téléphoner…
- Emphasizes a planned near future: I’m going to call Marie tonight.

Both refer to something in the near future, but veux focuses on wanting, while vais focuses on the future plan.

Is Je veux… polite in French, or is it too direct?

Je veux… is grammatically correct, but it can sound quite direct or even a bit demanding, especially when making requests.

Talking about your own plans (like in your sentence):
- Je veux téléphoner à Marie ce soir. → perfectly fine.
Asking for things from others (in a shop, restaurant, etc.):
- Je veux un café. can sound rude or childish.
- More polite: Je voudrais un café. (I would like a coffee.)

So, in your sentence, Je veux is acceptable because you’re talking about what you want to do, not ordering someone.

Where can ce soir go in the sentence? Is Je veux téléphoner à Marie ce soir the only option?

Ce soir (this evening / tonight) can move, but some positions sound more natural than others.

Most natural:

Je veux téléphoner à Marie ce soir.
Ce soir, je veux téléphoner à Marie.

Less natural / more marked:

Je veux ce soir téléphoner à Marie. (possible, but sounds a bit formal or literary)

French tends to put time expressions like ce soir at the beginning or end of the sentence.

What exactly does ce soir mean: “this evening” or “tonight”?

Ce soir literally means this evening, but in English you often say tonight for the same time period.

So ce soir usually covers:

Early evening + later at night (roughly from after work until bedtime)

Translation depends on context and what sounds natural in English:

Je veux téléphoner à Marie ce soir.
- I want to call Marie tonight.
- I want to call Marie this evening.

Both are correct.

How would I replace à Marie with a pronoun?

À Marie is an indirect object (to Marie). The matching pronoun is lui.

Position: the pronoun goes before the verb (or before the first verb if there are two):

Je veux téléphoner à Marie ce soir.
→ Je veux lui téléphoner ce soir. = I want to call her tonight.

Notice:

You do not say Je veux téléphoner à elle. ❌ in normal French. You must use lui.

Why is there no article (like “la”) before Marie?

In French, people’s first names usually do not take an article:

Marie, Paul, Sophie, Jean, etc.

So you say:

Je veux téléphoner à Marie. ✅
not
Je veux téléphoner à la Marie. ❌ (sounds wrong or very marked / dialectal)

Articles with names are used in some regional styles or in very specific contexts, but in standard French you normally drop the article with first names.

How do you pronounce Je veux téléphoner à Marie ce soir?

Approximate phonetic guide (standard French):

Je → [ʒə] (similar to “zhuh”)
veux → [vø] (like “vuh” with rounded lips)
téléphoner → [te.le.fɔ.ne] (tay-lay-foh-nay)
à → [a] (like “ah”)
Marie → [ma.ʁi] (mah-ree, with French r)
ce → [sə] (suh)
soir → [swaʁ] (swahr, again with French r)

Put together:
Je veux téléphoner à Marie ce soir → [ʒə vø te.le.fɔ.ne a ma.ʁi sə swaʁ]

There is no strong stress on individual words; French has a more even rhythm than English.

What is the difference between ce soir, le soir, and dans la soirée?

All involve evening, but with different meanings:

ce soir = this evening / tonight
- A specific evening: later today
le soir = in the evening / evenings (in general)
- Habit or general time:
  - Je téléphone à Marie le soir. = I call Marie in the evenings.
dans la soirée = sometime during the evening
- Less precise, “at some point in the evening”:
  - Je veux téléphoner à Marie dans la soirée.
    = I want to call Marie sometime this evening.

Could I just say Je téléphone à Marie ce soir instead of Je veux téléphoner…?

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly:

Je veux téléphoner à Marie ce soir.
- Focus on wanting or planning to do it.
Je téléphone à Marie ce soir.
- Present tense used as a fixed plan / scheduled action:
  - Similar to English: I’m calling Marie tonight.
  - Implies you’ve already decided or arranged it.

Both are correct; choice depends on what nuance you want.