Learn Hardcore French: Je veux embrasser Marie quand elle arrive.

It can historically or in some literary contexts mean “to embrace” (to hug), but that is not the default meaning anymore. If you want to say specifically “to hug,” people more often use:

faire un câlin (à quelqu’un)
- Je veux faire un câlin à Marie. = I want to hug Marie.

So if you say Je veux embrasser Marie, a French speaker will normally understand “I want to kiss Marie.”

Why is there no article before Marie?

In French, most personal names are used without an article:

Marie arrive. = Marie is arriving.
Je connais Paul. = I know Paul.

So:

Je veux embrasser Marie. (not la Marie)

There are special cases where you might hear an article with a name, usually in very colloquial, regional, or old-fashioned speech (e.g. la Marie, le Paul), but standard, neutral French uses names without an article.

Why is it quand elle arrive and not quand elle arrivera with a future tense?

In French, after time conjunctions like:

quand (when)
lorsque (when)
dès que (as soon as)
tant que (as long as)

you usually use the present tense to talk about the future:

Je veux embrasser Marie quand elle arrive.
Literally: I want to kiss Marie when she arrives.
Meaning: I want to kiss her when she gets here / when she arrives (in the future).

French uses:

quand + present → future reference

where English often uses:

when + present → future reference
or
when + future (“when she will arrive”) (although this sounds less natural in English).

You could say quand elle arrivera, but in everyday speech for this kind of simple future event, quand elle arrive with the present is completely normal and often preferred. The future arrivera sounds slightly more formal or emphasizes the future aspect more strongly.

Should arrive be in the subjunctive, like quand elle arrive vs quand elle arrive (subjunctive)?

No. After quand, you do not normally use the subjunctive in modern French. You use the indicative.

The form elle arrive looks the same in the present indicative and present subjunctive, but the mood here is indicative because:

quand introduces a time clause, not a clause of doubt, emotion, necessity, etc.

You would need the subjunctive with conjunctions like:

avant que (before) → avant qu’elle arrive
bien que (although) → bien qu’elle arrive en retard

But with quand, use the indicative:

Je veux l’embrasser quand elle arrive. (not subjunctive in meaning)

Can I put quand elle arrive at the beginning of the sentence? Does the meaning change?

Yes, you can move the time clause to the beginning without changing the basic meaning:

Je veux embrasser Marie quand elle arrive.
Quand elle arrive, je veux embrasser Marie.

Both mean the same thing: When she arrives, I want to kiss Marie.

The difference is only in emphasis and style:

Starting with Quand elle arrive slightly emphasizes the time condition.
In spoken French, both orders are natural; starting with Je veux… may sound a bit more neutral.

Can I replace Marie with a pronoun? Where does the pronoun go?

Yes. The direct object pronoun for a singular feminine person is la, which becomes l’ before a vowel or silent h:

Je veux l’embrasser quand elle arrive.
= I want to kiss her when she arrives.

Key points:

The object pronoun (la / l’) goes before the infinitive embrasser, not at the end of the sentence.
Structure: Je veux + l’ + embrasser.

More examples:

Je veux le voir. = I want to see him/it.
Je veux les aider. = I want to help them.

Why is it elle after quand, and not la or lui?

After quand, we need a subject pronoun, because arrive needs a subject.

elle = subject pronoun (“she”)
la / l’ = direct object pronoun (“her” as object)
lui = indirect object pronoun (“to her / to him”)

In quand elle arrive:

elle is the subject of arrive.
It answers “who arrives?” → Elle.

So:

Je veux l’embrasser quand elle arrive.
- l’ = direct object of embrasser (the person kissed)
- elle = subject of arrive (the person who arrives)

You can’t use la or lui as the subject of arrive.

Should there be a comma before quand in this sentence?

In French, a comma before quand is optional and depends on rhythm and style.

Both are correct:

Je veux embrasser Marie quand elle arrive.
Je veux embrasser Marie, quand elle arrive.

However:

Without a comma is more common for such a short sentence.
A comma can add a tiny pause in reading and can sometimes slightly emphasize the time clause, but it doesn’t change the basic meaning here.

So for simple sentences like this, it’s often written without a comma.

How should I pronounce Je veux embrasser Marie quand elle arrive? Are there any liaisons?

Approximate pronunciation (in standard French):

Je veux embrasser Marie quand elle arrive
→ [ʒə vø ɑ̃bʁase maʁi kɑ̃ tɛl aʁiv]

Some points:

Je veux → [ʒə vø] (the x is silent).
veux embrasser → often sounds like one flow: [vø ɑ̃bʁase]; there isn’t a mandatory liaison, but the words connect smoothly.
quand elle → there is a liaison: [kɑ̃ tɛl] (you pronounce a t sound between quand and elle).
Final consonants:
- Marie → [maʁi] (final e is pronounced like English “ee”).
- quand → [kɑ̃] (final d is silent).
- arrive → [aʁiv] (final e is normally silent in connected speech).

Spoken naturally, it flows together quite smoothly.

Is Je veux polite? Could I say Je voudrais instead?

Je veux literally means “I want” and can sound rather direct, even demanding, depending on context and tone.

If you want to be softer or more polite, you can use Je voudrais (I would like):

Je voudrais embrasser Marie quand elle arrive.

However, in a context of talking about your own desire (to a friend, in narration, etc.), Je veux is completely normal and not rude; it just expresses a strong, straightforward desire:

Je veux embrasser Marie quand elle arrive.
= I really want to kiss Marie when she arrives.

So:

Je veux → strong, direct desire (“I want”).
Je voudrais → softer, more polite or hypothetical (“I would like”).