Paul est en colère aujourd'hui.

Paul is angry today.

Breakdown of Paul est en colère aujourd'hui.

• être: to be
• Paul: Paul
• aujourd'hui: today
• en colère: angry

Questions & Answers about Paul est en colère aujourd'hui.

Why do we say être en colère instead of just être colère?

In French, colère is a noun (“anger”), not an adjective.
So you can’t say être colère the way you say “to be angry” in English.

French often uses être + en + noun to express states:

• être en colère – to be angry
• être en retard – to be late
• être en forme – to be in shape
• être en panne – to be broken down (for machines)

So Paul est en colère literally means “Paul is in anger,” which is the natural French way to say “Paul is angry.”

Is colère an adjective or a noun here?

Colère is a feminine noun: la colère = anger.

In the sentence Paul est en colère:

• est = 3rd person singular of être (to be)
• en = preposition
• colère = noun

So the structure is être + en + noun, not être + adjective. That’s why it doesn’t change form for gender or number (see below).

Why isn’t there an article before colère (why not en la colère or en une colère)?

In many fixed expressions with en + abstract noun, French does not use an article:

• en colère – angry
• en retard – late
• en avance – early
• en forme – in good shape
• en danger – in danger

These are idiomatic patterns. Saying en la colère would sound wrong in modern French in this meaning. You would only see an article if colère is used in a more literal, non‑idiomatic way, e.g.:

• La colère de Paul est compréhensible. – Paul’s anger is understandable.

Does en colère change for gender or number?

No, en colère itself never changes. It stays the same with all subjects:

• Paul est en colère. – Paul is angry.
• Marie est en colère. – Marie is angry.
• Ils sont en colère. – They (masc./mixed) are angry.
• Elles sont en colère. – They (fem.) are angry.

What changes is only the form of être (est / sont / suis / etc.), not en colère.

What’s the difference between être en colère and être fâché(e)?

Both can mean “to be angry,” but there are nuances:

• être en colère

  • very common, neutral, clear “is angry / is mad”
  • often a bit stronger or more openly angry, but widely used in all contexts.

• être fâché(e)

  • can mean angry, but also upset / displeased / not on good terms
  • often used about relationships:
    • Ils sont fâchés. – They’re not on good terms / they’ve fallen out.

In your sentence, you could also say:

• Paul est fâché aujourd’hui.

That would be understood as “Paul is angry/upset today,” sometimes slightly less “explosive” than en colère, depending on context.

Can I say Paul a la colère or Paul a colère?

In modern everyday French, no:

• Paul a la colère – incorrect in this sense
• Paul a colère – archaic/poetic, not standard today

To say “Paul is angry,” you normally use:

• Paul est en colère.
• Paul est fâché.

You can, however, use avoir if colère is an object in a more complex phrase:

• Paul a du mal à contrôler sa colère. – Paul has trouble controlling his anger.

Where can aujourd’hui go in the sentence? Is Paul est en colère aujourd’hui the only correct order?

Aujourd’hui is an adverb of time, and French is quite flexible with its placement. All of these are correct:

• Paul est en colère aujourd’hui. – Very common, neutral.
• Aujourd’hui, Paul est en colère. – Slight emphasis on “today.”
• Paul, aujourd’hui, est en colère. – More marked, often for stylistic or spoken emphasis.

The version you have (Paul est en colère aujourd’hui) is the most typical neutral word order.

How is aujourd’hui formed, and why is there an apostrophe?

Aujourd’hui is historically made up of older words:

• au jour d’ – “on the day of”
• hui – an old word meaning “today / this day”

So aujourd’hui literally meant “on the day of this day.”

The apostrophe is from d’ (from de): au jour d’hui → aujourd’hui.

Today:

• It’s written as a single word: aujourd’hui
• No hyphen inside it
• Only the u in aujourd’ and hui have no accents; there are no accents in aujourd’hui at all.

Is there a liaison between est and en when you say Paul est en colère?

Yes, there is a liaison in standard pronunciation:

• est en is pronounced like: /ɛ.tɑ̃/
  
  • the t in est is linked to en

So the whole sentence in IPA is commonly:

• /pɔl ɛ.tɑ̃ kɔ.lɛʁ o.ʒuʁ.dɥi/

Roughly, you can think of it as:

• “Pol eh-tahn koh-lair oh-zhoor-dwee” (very approximate English-style representation).

How do you pronounce aujourd’hui?

In standard French, aujourd’hui is pronounced:

• /o.ʒuʁ.dɥi/

Broken down:

• au – /o/ (like the o in “go,” but shorter)
• jour – /ʒuʁ/ (ʒ like the s in “measure”; r is French uvular r)
• d’hui – /dɥi/ (a d followed by a d + w + ee sound)

It sounds like: “oh-zhoor-dwee” (approximate).

Can I say Paul est en colère maintenant instead of aujourd’hui?

Yes, you can:

• Paul est en colère maintenant. – “Paul is angry now.”

Nuance:

• aujourd’hui – focuses on the whole day / at some point today
• maintenant – focuses on the present moment (“right now”)

So aujourd’hui is about the day as a time frame; maintenant is about the current instant.

Can I simply say Paul est en colère without aujourd’hui?

Yes. That’s a perfectly complete sentence:

• Paul est en colère. – Paul is angry.

Adding aujourd’hui just specifies when he is angry. Without it, the time is understood from context (right now, usually).

Is colère only used in être en colère, or can it appear in other expressions?

Colère is widely used beyond être en colère. Common uses include:

• La colère de Paul. – Paul’s anger.
• Se mettre en colère. – To get angry / to become angry.
  
  • Il se met souvent en colère. – He often gets angry.
• Entrer dans une colère noire. – To fly into a terrible rage.
• Dans un accès de colère. – In a fit of anger.

So colère is a regular noun meaning “anger,” which appears in many expressions, not just être en colère.