Le médecin soigne Marie maintenant.

The doctor is treating Marie now.

Breakdown of Le médecin soigne Marie maintenant.

• Marie: Marie
• maintenant: now
• le médecin: the doctor
• soigner: to treat

Questions & Answers about Le médecin soigne Marie maintenant.

Why is it le médecin and not just médecin, when in English we often just say doctor?

In French, singular countable nouns almost always need an article (a little word like le, la, un, une).

• le médecin = the doctor
• un médecin = a doctor

In English you can sometimes say just Doctor or Doctor Smith without an article, but in French you normally cannot drop the article before a common noun used on its own. So médecin soigne Marie would be incorrect; you need le or un.

Why is it le médecin and not un médecin?

Both are grammatically possible, but they do not mean the same thing:

• Le médecin soigne Marie maintenant.
  Focuses on a specific, known doctor: The doctor is treating Marie now.

• Un médecin soigne Marie maintenant.
  Means A doctor is treating Marie now. You don’t specify which doctor; you just say that it is some doctor.

Which one you use depends on whether the doctor is already known or specific in the context.

Why is the verb soigne used, and not something like est soignant (a direct translation of is treating)?

French usually does not use a separate continuous form like English (is treating, is eating, etc.).

The simple present tense covers both:

• Le médecin soigne Marie.
  Can mean:
  • The doctor treats Marie. (habitually)
  • The doctor is treating Marie. (right now, especially with a time word like maintenant)

So soigne (present tense of soigner) already includes the idea of is treating in this sentence. Est soignant is not the right structure here.

So what is the infinitive of soigne, and how is it conjugated with je, tu, il/elle?

The infinitive is soigner (to treat, to look after).

Present tense (indicative) for singular persons:

• je soigne – I treat / I am treating
• tu soignes – you treat / you are treating (informal)
• il/elle/on soigne – he/she/one treats / is treating

In your sentence, soigne is il soigne (he treats), where il refers to le médecin.

Could I say Le médecin est en train de soigner Marie maintenant? Is that more like The doctor is treating Marie now?

Yes, that is correct French.

• Le médecin soigne Marie maintenant.
  Natural, very common, neutral. Context and maintenant tell you it is happening now.

• Le médecin est en train de soigner Marie (maintenant).
  Literally: The doctor is in the process of treating Marie.
  This emphasizes the ongoing action even more, similar to the English continuous form.

In many situations, French speakers will simply use soigne; the en train de form is used when you want to really insist on the action being in progress.

Why does Marie have no article? Why not la Marie?

Personal names in French are normally used without an article:

• Marie – Mary
• Pierre – Peter
• Sophie – Sophie

So you say:

• Le médecin soigne Marie. – The doctor is treating Marie.

You would not say la Marie here. Using an article with a name is possible in some dialects and special contexts (familiar or regional speech), but in standard French in a neutral sentence like this, names take no article.

Why is Marie after the verb soigne? Could I say Le médecin Marie soigne maintenant?

No, Le médecin Marie soigne maintenant is incorrect. The normal order in a simple French statement is:

subject – verb – direct object – (adverbs / time words)

So here:

• Le médecin (subject)
• soigne (verb)
• Marie (direct object)
• maintenant (time adverb)

Correct variants:

• Le médecin soigne Marie maintenant.
• Le médecin soigne maintenant Marie. (also possible, with a slight change of emphasis)

But Marie must stay as the object of soigne, after the verb, not between subject and verb.

Where can I put maintenant? Is Le médecin soigne maintenant Marie also correct?

Yes, both positions are possible:

1. Le médecin soigne Marie maintenant.
2. Le médecin soigne maintenant Marie.

Both are grammatically correct. The most neutral, common choice is probably (1), with maintenant at the end.

Position (2) can add a small emphasis on the time (now rather than before), but in everyday speech they are very close in meaning.

How would I replace Marie with a pronoun? For example, how do I say The doctor is treating her now?

You use a direct object pronoun and place it before the verb:

• Le médecin la soigne maintenant. – The doctor is treating her now.

A few examples:

• Le médecin soigne Marie. → Le médecin la soigne.
• Le médecin soigne Paul. → Le médecin le soigne.
• Le médecin soigne Marie et Paul. → Le médecin les soigne.

So: le / la / les go in front of the verb in a simple sentence.

Is médecin masculine or feminine? What if the doctor is a woman?

Grammatically, médecin is traditionally masculine:

• le médecin
• un médecin

This is used no matter the real-life gender of the doctor:

• Le médecin soigne Marie. Elle est très compétente.
  Here le médecin refers to a female doctor (elle).

Nowadays some people say la médecin to make the feminine more visible, but this is still less common and can sound marked or stylistic. In standard usage, le médecin is used for both male and female doctors; the gender is then shown by pronouns or adjectives:

• Le médecin est arrivé, il est fatigué. (male)
• Le médecin est arrivé, elle est fatiguée. (female)

How do I pronounce médecin and maintenant? They look tricky.

Approximate pronunciation with English-like hints:

• médecin → [med-sɛ̃]

  • mé like meh
  • d is pronounced
  • c sounds like s here
  • final in is nasal: like sang in French; often heard as sɛ̃ (a nasal eh sound)
    You do not pronounce a clear final n.

• maintenant → [mɛ̃t-nɑ̃] (often shortened in fast speech)

  • main is nasal: mɛ̃ (like meh with a nasal)
  • t is pronounced
  • enant merges to something like nɑ̃ (nasal ah)
    Everyday speech often reduces the middle vowel, so you almost hear two parts: mɛ̃t
    • nɑ̃.

You can listen to these in an online dictionary to get the exact sounds.

How would I make this sentence negative, like The doctor is not treating Marie now?

Use ne … pas around the verb:

• Le médecin ne soigne pas Marie maintenant.
  = The doctor is not treating Marie now.

Word order with a pronoun:

• Le médecin ne la soigne pas maintenant.
  = The doctor is not treating her now.

In spoken French, ne is often dropped:

• Le médecin soigne pas Marie maintenant. (informal speech)
  But in writing and in careful speech, keep ne … pas.