Learn Hardcore French: Marie parle clairement pendant la séance.

Context tells you which is meant. English distinguishes between simple and continuous forms; French normally does not. To insist on “right now” in French, you might add something like en ce moment, but it’s not required.

Why is the adverb clairement placed after the verb parle and not before it?

In French, adverbs of manner (how someone does something) usually come after the verb.

Correct: Marie parle clairement. – “Marie speaks clearly.”
Very unusual/wrong: Marie clairement parle.

So clairement (how she speaks) naturally follows parle.
With compound tenses, it typically comes after the auxiliary and before the past participle:
Marie a clairement parlé. – “Marie clearly spoke / spoke clearly.”

What is the difference between clair, claire, and clairement?

clair – masculine adjective: un son clair (a clear sound)
claire – feminine adjective: une explication claire (a clear explanation)
clairement – adverb: parler clairement (to speak clearly)

In Marie parle clairement, you need an adverb (modifying the verb parle), so clairement is the correct form.
Using the adjective instead (Marie parle claire) would be incorrect.

Does clairement have to agree in gender or number with Marie?

No. Adverbs in French are invariable: they never change for gender or number.

Il parle clairement.
Elle parle clairement.
Ils parlent clairement.

Clairement stays exactly the same in all cases, because it modifies the verb, not the noun.

What exactly does pendant mean here? Is it always translated as “during”?

In this sentence, pendant means during:

pendant la séance – during the session

But pendant is also used with durations and then is often translated as for:

pendant deux heures – for two hours
pendant l’été – during the summer

So pendant can be during or for, depending on context. In your sentence, “during” is the natural translation.

What is the difference between pendant la séance and à la séance?

pendant la séance = during the session
- Focuses on the time when the action happens.
à la séance = at the session / at the meeting
- Focuses on the place/event as a location or occasion.

Compare:

Marie parle clairement pendant la séance.
She speaks clearly while the session is happening.
Marie parle clairement à la séance.
She speaks clearly at that event, as opposed to somewhere else (a bit less common in this exact wording).

What does séance mean exactly? Is it like “session” or “meeting”?

Séance is a general word for a session, a sitting, or a showing, depending on context:

une séance de cinéma – a movie showing
une séance de thérapie – a therapy session
une séance de travail – a work session
une séance de sport – a workout session

It is not the same as English “season” (that would be saison in French).
In your sentence, séance will usually be understood as some kind of meeting/class/therapy/official session, depending on the context already given to the learner.

Why is it la séance with the article la? Could we drop it?

French almost always uses a definite or indefinite article with singular countable nouns.

la séance – the session
une séance – a session

You cannot normally say just séance by itself here. You need la because you’re referring to a specific session that both speakers know about.
So pendant séance would be incorrect in standard French; it must be pendant la séance (or pendant une séance, etc.).

How would I say “Marie spoke clearly during the session” in the past tense?

Use the passé composé:

Marie a parlé clairement pendant la séance.

This describes a completed action, like reporting what happened at a specific session.
You would use l’imparfait (Marie parlait clairement pendant la séance) if you were describing the situation in a more ongoing/background way, for example in a story: “Back then, Marie used to speak clearly during the session.”

What’s the difference between pendant and durant or lors de?

All three can relate to time, but they’re not used in exactly the same way:

pendant la séance
- Very common, neutral: during the session / for the duration of the session.
durant la séance
- Close in meaning to pendant, but a bit more formal/literary in everyday speech.
lors de la séance
- Means “at the time of / on the occasion of the session.”
- Often used in more formal or written contexts: lors de la réunion, lors de la conférence.

In everyday spoken French, pendant is the most natural here.

Could I say Marie parle de façon claire pendant la séance instead of Marie parle clairement? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

Marie parle de façon claire pendant la séance.

This is grammatically correct and means essentially the same thing: “Marie speaks in a clear way.”
Nuance:

parle clairement is shorter and more natural in most contexts.
parle de façon claire can sound a little more formal or slightly heavier in style.

In normal conversation, parle clairement is preferred.

Does Marie parle clairement mean she speaks clearly or loudly?

Clairement refers to clarity, not volume.

parler clairement – to speak clearly (articulate, easy to understand)
parler fort – to speak loudly
parler doucement – to speak softly / quietly

So your sentence says that Marie is easy to understand, not that she is speaking loudly.

Are there any important pronunciation points in Marie parle clairement pendant la séance?

A few key points:

Marie → /ma.ʁi/
- The r is the French uvular sound, not the English “r”.
parle → /paʁl/
- Final e is silent; you hear just one syllable.
clairement → /klɛʁ.mɑ̃/
- ai → /ɛ/ as in clair.
- Final -ment is pronounced /mɑ̃/ (nasal vowel).
pendant → /pɑ̃.dɑ̃/
- Both en and an are nasal /ɑ̃/. Final -t is silent.
séance → /se.ɑ̃s/
- é → /e/.
- an → nasal /ɑ̃/.
- Final -e is silent.

There is no liaison between parle and clairement, nor between pendant and la here.