Learn Hardcore French: Marie lit un magazine de mode pendant sa pause‑café. - Marie reads a fashion magazine during her coffee break.

Lit is the 3rd‑person singular of the verb lire (to read) in the present tense:
je lis, tu lis, il/elle lit, nous lisons, vous lisez, ils/elles lisent.

French present tense covers both English simple present and present continuous, so Marie lit can mean:

Marie reads (in general / habitually), or
Marie is reading (right now),

depending on context. The French sentence itself doesn’t force one or the other; the interpretation comes from the situation.

How is lit pronounced, and is it the same as the noun lit (“bed”)?

Lit here is pronounced /li/ (like lee in English), with a silent t.

The noun lit (bed) is spelled the same and pronounced exactly the same: /li/.
You distinguish them only by context:

Marie lit un magazine → verb “reads”
Le lit est grand → noun “bed”

Why is it un magazine and not une magazine?

In French, magazine is a masculine noun, so it takes the masculine article un.

The spelling ending in ‑e does not always indicate a feminine noun. There are many masculine nouns ending in ‑e (e.g. le problème, le livre, le téléphone, un groupe, un lycée).
You simply have to learn the gender with the word: un magazine.

Why do we say un magazine de mode instead of un magazine de la mode or un magazine sur la mode?

Un magazine de mode is a type or category of magazine: a fashion magazine. In French, when de + noun classifies another noun (indicating type, field, material, etc.), you normally use bare de, without article:

un magazine de mode (a fashion magazine)
un film d’horreur (a horror film)
un cours de maths (a math class)

If you say un magazine sur la mode, it means “a magazine about fashion” (more descriptive of content than of type). It’s not wrong, but it doesn’t sound like the fixed category name in the same way magazine de mode does.
Un magazine de la mode would usually sound odd here; it suggests “a magazine of the fashion” (as if fashion owned the magazine), which isn’t what we mean.

Why is there no article before mode in magazine de mode?

After de used for classification, French normally drops the article:

un professeur de musique (a music teacher)
un livre de cuisine (a cookbook)
un magazine de mode (a fashion magazine)

So we don’t say de la mode in this pattern.
When de + article (du, de la, des) is used, it usually shows possession, specific quantity, or a more concrete relationship. Here, mode just labels the kind of magazine.

Why is pendant used here? Could I say durant, lors de, or à instead?

Pendant + a period of time is the most neutral, common way to say “during”:

pendant sa pause‑café → during her coffee break.

Durant is very close in meaning but slightly more formal or literary; durant sa pause‑café is grammatically correct, just a bit less common in everyday speech.

Lors de is followed by a noun and often feels more formal or event‑like: lors de la réunion (during the meeting). Lors de sa pause‑café is possible but sounds more formal and less natural for a simple, everyday coffee break.

À sa pause‑café would be understood but is not the usual structure for “during her coffee break”; pendant is the natural choice here.

Can I say pour sa pause‑café instead of pendant sa pause‑café?

Generally, no: pour sa pause‑café doesn’t mean the same thing.

pendant sa pause‑café = during her coffee break (time period).
pour sa pause‑café would suggest “for her coffee break” (for the purpose of / intended for), which doesn’t fit well here.

So if you want to express “while she’s on her coffee break”, you should use pendant.

Why is it sa pause‑café and not son pause‑café, and what does sa agree with?

French possessive adjectives (mon/ma/mes, ton/ta/tes, son/sa/ses, etc.) agree with the gender and number of the thing owned, not the owner’s gender.

pause is a feminine noun: une pause.
Therefore we use the feminine singular possessive sa: sa pause‑café.

If the noun started with a vowel and was masculine, you’d use son: son ami (his/her friend, masculine noun). But here the noun is feminine (pause), so it must be sa, regardless of the fact that Marie is a woman (it would also be sa pause‑café if the subject were Paul).

Why is there a hyphen in pause‑café, and is it always written that way?

Pause‑café is a compound noun (“coffee break”). French often links the parts of a fixed compound with a hyphen: arc‑en‑ciel, chef‑lieu, pomme de terre (this one with spaces), porte‑monnaie, etc.

Current spelling recommendations (and dictionaries) generally write pause‑café with a hyphen, as a single lexical unit. You’ll occasionally see it without the hyphen (pause café), but pause‑café is the standard dictionary form and the safer choice, especially in writing.

Can I move pendant sa pause‑café to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. French allows this kind of time expression to be moved for emphasis or style:

Marie lit un magazine de mode pendant sa pause‑café.
Pendant sa pause‑café, Marie lit un magazine de mode.

Both are correct and natural. Putting pendant sa pause‑café first simply emphasizes the time frame a bit more.

What is the difference between Marie lit un magazine de mode pendant sa pause‑café and Marie est en train de lire un magazine de mode pendant sa pause‑café?

Marie lit un magazine de mode pendant sa pause‑café is neutral; it can describe a habit (what she usually does) or the current situation, depending on context.

Marie est en train de lire un magazine de mode pendant sa pause‑café focuses clearly on an ongoing action right now (“Marie is in the middle of reading a fashion magazine during her coffee break”).
So:

use lit for general, simple statements (very common);
use est en train de lire when you really want to insist on the action being in progress at this moment.