Paul est organisé au travail.

Paul is organized at work.

Breakdown of Paul est organisé au travail.

• être: to be
• Paul: Paul
• le travail: the work
• à: at
• organisé: organized

Questions & Answers about Paul est organisé au travail.

Why is organisé written with only one e at the end and not organisée?

In French, adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun (or person) they describe.

• Paul is a masculine singular name.
• The masculine singular form of the adjective is organisé.
• The feminine singular form would be organisée (with ée).

So you would say:

• Paul est organisé au travail. ✔️
• Marie est organisée au travail. ✔️

Is organisé here an adjective or a past participle in the passive voice?

Here organisé functions as an adjective, not as a passive form.

You can check this by seeing whether there is an action being done to Paul:

• A passive voice would correspond to something like:
  Paul est organisé par son assistant. → Paul is organized (arranged) by his assistant.
  Here, organisé is a past participle in a passive construction.

• In Paul est organisé au travail, no one is organizing Paul. It describes his character trait / habit at work.
  So organisé is an adjective meaning well-organized.

What does au travail literally mean, and how is it formed?

Au travail literally means at work.

Grammatically:

• à = at / to
• le = the (masculine singular)
• à + le → au (this is a contraction that’s always made)

So:

• à le travail ❌ (never said)
• au travail ✔️ (at the work → at work)

What is the difference between au travail and dans son travail?

Both can be translated as at work / in his work, but the nuance changes:

• au travail

  • More about the place or situation: when Paul is at his workplace.
  • Focus on how he is as an employee / while he is at work.
  • Paul est organisé au travail. → Paul is organized when he’s at work.

• dans son travail

  • More about the way he does his job or the content of his work.
  • Focus on how he carries out his tasks / duties.
  • Paul est organisé dans son travail. → Paul is organized in the way he does his job.

The difference is subtle, and both are correct; au travail is often more general and common.

Could you just say Paul est organisé without au travail?

Yes.

• Paul est organisé. → Paul is (generally) organized as a person.
• Paul est organisé au travail. → He is organized specifically in the context of work.

If you leave out au travail, it sounds like you are talking about his personality or habits in general, not just his professional life.

Is there a liaison between est and organisé when speaking?

Yes, there is a liaison.

• est ends in a normally silent t.
• organisé begins with a vowel sound.

In good, careful French, you pronounce:

• Paul est organisé → /pɔl ɛ t‿ɔʁɡanize/

You hear a t sound linking est and organisé: ɛ tɔʁɡanize.

Without the liaison, it sounds less fluent or a bit choppy.

Where would organisé go if it directly described a noun instead of following être?

With the verb être, adjectives come after être:

• Paul est organisé.

If organisé directly describes a noun like employé (employee), it normally goes after the noun:

• Paul est un employé organisé.
  → Paul is an organized employee.

Most French adjectives go after the noun, though there are some common ones that go before (like petit, grand, bon, mauvais, beau, nouveau etc.). Organisé is not one of those exceptions; it normally follows the noun.

Could you say Paul est ordonné au travail instead? What is the difference between organisé and ordonné?

You can say Paul est ordonné au travail, but the nuance is slightly different:

• organisé

  • Well-organized in how he plans, arranges tasks, manages his time.
  • More about structure and method.

• ordonné

  • Tidy, neat, orderly.
  • More about physical order, like a clean, well-arranged desk.

So:

• Paul est organisé au travail. → He plans his tasks, schedules, priorities well.
• Paul est ordonné au travail. → His workplace is neat and tidy.

In everyday speech, organisé is often used more broadly; ordonné is more specific to neatness.

What is the difference between travail, emploi, and boulot?

All can relate to work or job, but they’re used differently:

• travail

  • General word for work or labor.
  • Can also mean job in some contexts.
  • Paul est organisé au travail.

• emploi

  • More formal, means position / job / employment.
  • Paul a trouvé un nouvel emploi. → Paul found a new job.

• boulot

  • Informal/colloquial word meaning job / work.
  • Paul est très occupé au boulot. → Paul is very busy at work.

In the sentence given, au travail is neutral and standard; au boulot would make it more informal and conversational.

How would the sentence change if Paul were a woman, or if we were talking about several people?

You must change the ending of organisé to agree in gender and number with the subject:

• Feminine singular:

  • Pauline est organisée au travail.
  • organisée (extra e)

• Masculine plural:

  • Paul et Marc sont organisés au travail.
  • organisés (s added)

• Feminine plural:

  • Pauline et Marie sont organisées au travail.
  • organisées (es added)

Spoken French often doesn’t clearly pronounce these final consonants, but in writing the agreement is important.