Paul est malade aujourd'hui.

Est is the 3rd person singular form of être (to be), used with il / elle / on or with a name like Paul.

• Je suis = I am
• Tu es = You are (singular)
• Il / Elle / On est = He / She / One is
• Paul est = Paul is

You can’t use suis because that goes with je.
You also can’t use c’est here because you’re directly describing Paul, not identifying him as something.

• C’est Paul. = That’s Paul.
• Paul est malade. = Paul is sick/ill.

Malade generally means sick / ill in a physical or mental sense.

In this sentence, Paul est malade aujourd’hui. almost always means:

• Paul is sick today (physically unwell).

Context could sometimes give mental or emotional meanings:

• Il est un peu malade dans sa tête. = He’s a bit mentally ill / messed up in the head. (colloquial, can be rude)

But by default, malade simply means ill / sick.

Yes, it can change in writing:

• Masculine singular: malade
• Feminine singular: malade (same spelling)
• Masculine plural: malades
• Feminine plural: malades

In pronunciation, malade and malades sound the same in most everyday speech, because the final -s is silent:

• Paul est malade.
• Ils sont malades.

Both end in the same sound; only the verb sont vs est and the context show singular/plural.

In French, when you use être + an adjective to describe someone, you normally don’t use an article.

• Paul est malade. = Paul is sick.
• Marie est fatiguée. = Marie is tired.
• Ils sont contents. = They are happy.

You only use an article if it’s a noun, not an adjective:

• Paul est médecin. = Paul is a doctor. (no article in French, even though English has a)
• Paul est un malade. = Paul is a sick person / a patient. (here un malade is a noun, so you use an article)

They’re different words and used in different structures:

• Malade = an adjective meaning sick / ill

  • Paul est malade. = Paul is sick.

• Mal can be:

  • an adverb: ça va mal = things are going badly
  • a noun meaning pain / ache:
    • Paul a mal à la tête. = Paul has a headache / Paul’s head hurts.

You don’t say Paul est mal to mean “Paul is sick” in a neutral way.
Paul est mal usually means “Paul is in a bad position / doing badly (morally, socially, etc.)” depending on context.

Yes, both are correct:

• Paul est malade aujourd’hui.
• Aujourd’hui, Paul est malade.

The difference is just emphasis:

• Paul est malade aujourd’hui. = neutral, simple statement.
• Aujourd’hui, Paul est malade. = slightly emphasizes today (e.g., maybe yesterday he was fine).

The comma after Aujourd’hui is common but not absolutely required in informal writing.

Phonetically (approximate English-style):

• aujourd’hui ≈ oh-zhoor-DWEE

Details:

• au = /o/ like “oh”
• jour = /ʒuʁ/ (the j is like the s in “measure”)
• The d at the end of aujourd’ is silent.
• hui = /ɥi/, close to wee (with lips rounded, like starting a w then saying ee)

So all together: /o.ʒuʁ.dɥi/

Historically, aujourd’hui comes from:

• au jour d’hui = on the day of today

Over time it fused into aujourd’hui.
The d’ is from de, and hui is an old word for today.

In modern French:

• aujourd’hui is just one normal word meaning today.
• The apostrophe is now just part of the standard spelling; you don’t break it apart or change it.

No, there is normally no liaison between est and malade.

You say:

• [ɛ malɑd] → roughly eh ma-lad

You don’t pronounce the t in est here. A liaison would only happen if the next word began with a vowel, like:

• Il est en forme. → il è-tan forme (liaison: t
  • en)

But with malade (starting with m), there is no liaison: est malade = è malade.

In this simple sentence, Paul est malade aujourd’hui. is understood as physically ill.

Malade can have figurative meanings:

• Il est malade dans sa tête. = He’s crazy / mentally ill.
• Ce type est vraiment malade. = That guy is really twisted. (colloquial, judgmental)

But without extra context suggesting that figurative meaning, the safe and natural interpretation is: Paul is sick (ill) today.

You make the verb être negative:

• Paul n’est pas malade aujourd’hui.

Structure:

• ne / n’
  • verb + pas

Because est starts with a vowel, ne becomes n’:

• ne est → n’est

There are two common options, depending on nuance:

1. Paul a été malade aujourd’hui.

   • Past composed (passé composé)
   • Feels like a completed event within today (e.g., he was sick earlier today; maybe he’s better now).

2. Paul était malade aujourd’hui.

   • Imperfect (imparfait)
   • Describes a state over a period of time (he was sick during the day today, more descriptive).

In many everyday situations, Paul a été malade aujourd’hui. will sound the most natural if you’re reporting something that happened over the course of the day.

Yes, you can say:

• Paul se sent malade aujourd’hui. = Paul feels sick today.

Difference:

• Paul est malade aujourd’hui. = States a fact about his condition (he is ill).
• Paul se sent malade aujourd’hui. = Focuses on his perception; how he feels.

If a doctor is speaking after examining him, Paul est malade sounds more objective. If Paul is talking about himself, Je me sens malade emphasizes his own feeling.

Yes. In French, proper names (first names, surnames, many place names) are capitalized, just like in English:

• Paul, Marie, Paris, Dupont

Common nouns and most adjectives are not capitalized:

• malade, aujourd’hui, français (the language), anglais

So Paul est malade aujourd’hui. follows normal French capitalization rules.

Aujourd’hui is by far the most common and natural way to say today.

You might see or hear:

• ce jour = this day (more formal / literary, or in set phrases)
• en ce moment = at the moment / right now (not exactly today, more “currently”)

But in nearly all everyday contexts where you’d say “today” in English, you should use aujourd’hui in French.