Learn Hardcore French: Marie travaille dur, si bien qu'elle est fatiguée le soir. - Marie works hard, so she is tired in the evening.

As an adverb, dur is invariable: it never takes -e, -s, etc. So you use dur for masculine, feminine, singular, plural subjects:
- Il travaille dur.
- Elle travaille dur.
- Ils travaillent dur.
Dure with -e is the feminine adjective “hard” (as in “a hard object”):
- une pierre dure = a hard stone

After a verb like travailler, you need the adverb, not the adjective, so it must be dur, not dure.

What exactly does si bien que mean here, and how is it different from donc (“so” / “therefore”)?

Si bien que introduces a result clause: “to such an extent that / with the result that.”

In the sentence:
- Marie travaille dur, si bien qu'elle est fatiguée le soir.
- Sense: She works so hard that she is tired in the evening.

Compare with donc:

Marie travaille dur, donc elle est fatiguée le soir.
- More like: She works hard, so she is tired in the evening.
- This states a logical consequence quite directly.

Nuance:

Si bien que often suggests degree + result (almost like “so hard that…”).
Donc is more neutral and very common in speech, like English “so / therefore,” without emphasizing degree.

In many everyday contexts, you could swap them, but si bien que can feel a bit more structured or written.

Is the comma before si bien que necessary?

The comma is normal and recommended, because si bien que is introducing a subordinate clause of consequence.

Written French typically uses a comma before many conjunctions that introduce a full clause, especially when there’s a clear cause–consequence relationship:
- Il pleuvait, alors nous sommes restés.
- Elle a beaucoup mangé, si bien qu’elle a eu mal au ventre.

In casual writing, some people may omit it, but in standard written French, keeping the comma before si bien que is better style.

Why do we write qu'elle and not que elle?

This is elision in French: que becomes qu' before a word starting with a vowel or mute h.

que + elle → qu'elle
- The vowel e in que drops, replaced by an apostrophe.

This is mandatory in standard French:

You should not write que elle in this context; it’s wrong in standard spelling.
Same pattern with other pronouns and words:
- que il → qu'il
- que elle → qu'elle
- que on → qu'on

So si bien qu'elle est fatiguée is the only correct standard form.

Why is fatiguée written with an -e at the end?

Fatiguée agrees with the subject elle (Marie), who is feminine singular.

The adjective fatigué has these common forms:

Masculine singular: fatigué
Feminine singular: fatiguée
Masculine plural: fatigués
Feminine plural: fatiguées

So:

Marie est fatiguée. (feminine singular)
Paul est fatigué. (masculine singular)
Marie et Paul sont fatigués. (masculine plural, since mixed)
Marie et Sophie sont fatiguées. (feminine plural)

Because elle refers to Marie, a woman, we must write fatiguée.

What does le soir mean here, and why not ce soir or dans la soirée?

Le soir here expresses a general, habitual time, like “in the evenings” / “at night (in general)”:

Marie travaille dur, si bien qu'elle est fatiguée le soir.
→ She works hard, so she is tired in the evenings (as a rule).

Contrast:

ce soir = this evening, tonight (a specific evening)
- Elle est fatiguée ce soir. = She is tired tonight (just today).
dans la soirée = “during the evening / later in the evening”
- More about a period within a given evening, often in a specific context:
  - Je t’appellerai dans la soirée. = I’ll call you sometime this evening.

So le soir fits here because it talks about a regular, repeated situation.

Could we say Marie travaille beaucoup instead of Marie travaille dur? What’s the difference?

You can say both, but the nuance is slightly different:

travaille dur = works hard, suggests effort / intensity, maybe the work is tough or demanding.
travaille beaucoup = works a lot, focuses on quantity of work or time, not necessarily difficulty.

Examples:

Il travaille dur, mais pas beaucoup.
- He works hard when he works, but not for many hours.
Il travaille beaucoup, mais pas très dur.
- He works many hours, but his tasks are not very demanding.

In everyday speech, travaille dur is very natural when you want to emphasize effort, as in your sentence.

Where can dur go in the sentence? Can we move it around?

With travailler, the normal and practically only natural position is after the verb:

✅ Marie travaille dur.
❌ Marie dur travaille. (incorrect)
❌ Dur, Marie travaille. (possible only in very unusual, poetic, or emphatic styles)

Many short adverbs in French come right after the main verb when they describe how the action is done:

parler doucement (to speak softly)
chanter fort (to sing loudly)
travailler dur (to work hard)

So: keep dur directly after travaille.

Could we replace si bien que with tellement … que?

Yes, you can rephrase, but the structure changes slightly.

Original:

Marie travaille dur, si bien qu'elle est fatiguée le soir.

With tellement … que:

Marie travaille tellement dur qu'elle est fatiguée le soir.
- Literally: Marie works so hard that she is tired in the evening.

Notes:

With tellement … que, you usually put tellement before the element whose degree you’re emphasizing:
- tellement dur (so hard)
- tellement fatiguée (so tired), etc.
You do not normally say si bien tellement qu'elle…; you choose one pattern or the other.

Both versions are correct; tellement … que makes the idea of degree even more explicit.

Why is the verb travaille in the present tense? Does it mean “is working” or “works”?

French present tense (présent de l’indicatif) covers both:

Marie travaille dur can mean:
- Marie works hard (habitually, generally), and
- Marie is working hard (right now), depending on context.

In your sentence, because we have le soir expressing a habitual situation, the natural reading is:

She works hard (in general), and as a result she is (habitually) tired in the evenings.

French does not distinguish “works” vs “is working” with different verb forms the way English does; the context tells you which is meant.

Is si bien que formal, or is it common in everyday speech?

Si bien que is perfectly correct and fairly common, especially in written or careful spoken French.

In very casual conversation, many speakers might choose simpler connectors instead:
- donc
- alors
- du coup (informal)

For example, in informal speech people might say:

Marie travaille dur, du coup elle est crevée le soir. (very colloquial)

Your original sentence with si bien que sounds neutral to slightly formal, good for writing, narratives, and standard spoken French.

How do you pronounce est fatiguée and is the final -e in fatiguée sounded?

Pronunciation:

est → /ɛ/ (like “eh”)
fatiguée → /fa.ti.ɡe/

Details:

The t in est is silent here (no liaison, because the next word fatiguée begins with a consonant sound /f/). You say /ɛ fa.ti.ɡe/.
The final -e in fatiguée is not a separate syllable; it just makes the final -é feminine in spelling, but the sound is the same as masculine fatigué: /fa.ti.ɡe/.

So elle est fatiguée is pronounced roughly: [ɛl ɛ fa.ti.ɡe].