Paul reste souriant pendant le match.

Paul remains smiling during the game.

Breakdown of Paul reste souriant pendant le match.

• Paul: Paul
• pendant: during
• rester: to remain
• le match: the game
• souriant: smiling

Questions & Answers about Paul reste souriant pendant le match.

What is the difference between Paul reste souriant and Paul est souriant?

Both are grammatically correct, but they don’t mean exactly the same thing.

• Paul est souriant.
  This simply describes Paul’s state or character:

  • Either right now: “Paul is smiling / Paul is in a cheerful mood.”
  • Or as a general trait: “Paul is a smiley / cheerful person.”

• Paul reste souriant pendant le match.
  Rester + adjective means “to remain / stay + adjective.”
  It implies:

  • There is a period of time or some kind of difficulty.
  • Paul continues to be smiling; he doesn’t stop.

For example:

• Il reçoit de mauvaises nouvelles, mais il reste souriant.
  He gets bad news, but he remains smiling.

So reste souriant focuses on continuity, not just the state itself.

Is souriant here an adjective or a verb form? How is it formed?

Souriant is originally the present participle of the verb sourire (to smile), but in this sentence it is used as an adjective.

• Verb: sourire → present participle: souriant
• As an adjective, souriant means “smiling, cheerful-looking.”

It behaves like a regular adjective:

• Masculine singular: souriant
• Feminine singular: souriante
• Masculine plural: souriants
• Feminine plural: souriantes

In Paul reste souriant, it agrees with Paul (masculine singular), so we use souriant without extra -e or -s.

Could we say Paul sourit pendant le match instead? What is the nuance difference?

Yes, you can say Paul sourit pendant le match, and it is correct, but the nuance changes slightly:

• Paul sourit pendant le match.
  Focus on the action: Paul smiles during the match (at various moments or continuously).

• Paul reste souriant pendant le match.
  Focus on the state / attitude: Paul remains in a smiling, cheerful state throughout the match, possibly in contrast to something (e.g. the team is losing, but he stays cheerful).

In English:

• Paul sourit pendant le match. → Paul smiles during the match.
• Paul reste souriant pendant le match. → Paul remains / stays smiling during the match.

Why do we say pendant le match and not pendant du match or au match?

Because of how these prepositions work:

1. pendant + article + noun
   Pendant is used directly with a time period:

   • pendant le match – during the match
   • pendant la nuit – during the night
   • pendant les vacances – during the holidays

   So pendant le match is the normal structure.

2. pendant du match
   This is incorrect. Pendant does not take de/du before its noun in this time meaning.

3. au match
   à + le = au means “at the match / at the game” (place), not “during the match” (time span).

   • Paul reste souriant au match. = Paul stays cheerful at the game (there).
   • Paul reste souriant pendant le match. = Paul stays cheerful during the game (throughout its duration).

For the meaning “during the match,” French uses pendant le match, not au match.

Can pendant le match go at the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. French is quite flexible with time expressions.

You can say:

• Paul reste souriant pendant le match.
• Pendant le match, Paul reste souriant.

Both are correct and natural.

Placing Pendant le match at the beginning:

• Puts more emphasis on the time frame.
• Is very common in written and spoken French.

The meaning does not change in any important way; it’s mainly about emphasis and style.

How would the sentence change if the subject were feminine or plural?

The verb rester agrees with the subject in person and number, and the adjective souriant agrees in gender and number.

Starting from:

• Paul reste souriant pendant le match. (masculine singular)

Feminine singular:

• Marie reste souriante pendant le match.
  (souriant → souriante: add -e)

Masculine plural:

• Paul et Marc restent souriants pendant le match.
  (reste → restent, souriant → souriants: add -s)

Feminine plural:

• Marie et Julie restent souriantes pendant le match.
  (souriant → souriantes: -e + -s)

Mixed group (masculine + feminine):

• Paul et Marie restent souriants pendant le match.
  Masculine plural souriants is used when the group is mixed.

Is there any liaison or special pronunciation in reste souriant and pendant le match?

Key pronunciation points:

• Paul → /pɔl/
• reste → /ʁɛst/
  
  • Final -e is schwa or often silent in fluent speech; -t is silent here.

• souriant → /su.ʁjɑ̃/

  • The -ant is the nasal vowel /ɑ̃/ (like in en).
  • There is no liaison between reste and souriant (the next word starts with s, not a vowel).
• pendant → /pɑ̃.dɑ̃/
  
  • Both en and an are nasal vowels /ɑ̃/.
• le → /lə/ (often reduced, especially in fast speech).
• match → roughly /matʃ/, very similar to English “match” but shorter and without an aspirated h.

Between pendant and le, there is no liaison: you say /pɑ̃.dɑ̃ lə matʃ/, not pendant-le as one word.

Can we replace pendant with durant or lors de? Do they mean the same thing?

You can, but the style and nuance shift a little:

1. durant le match

   • Very close in meaning to pendant le match.
   • Slightly more formal or literary, but often interchangeable.
   • Sentence: Paul reste souriant durant le match.

2. lors du match

   • lors de + le match → lors du match
   • Means “during / at the time of the match,” often with a more event-focused or formal tone.
   • Sentence: Paul reste souriant lors du match.

In everyday neutral French, pendant le match is the most common and natural choice.
Durant and lors de are correct but feel more formal or written.

Why is the verb in the present tense? Can it express both a general habit and a specific situation?

Yes, the present tense in French (Paul reste souriant) can cover both:

1. Specific present situation

   • Talking about what is happening (or typically happens) in this match:
     • (En ce moment,) Paul reste souriant pendant le match.
       Right now, Paul is staying smiling during the match.

2. General habit

   • Describing what Paul does whenever he plays:
     • Paul reste toujours souriant pendant le match.
       Paul always stays smiling during the match.

French uses the présent de l’indicatif for actions:

• Happening now,
• Repeated habitually,
• Or generally true,
  and context (like toujours, souvent, or the surrounding sentences) clarifies which one is meant.

Is reste souriant closer to “keeps smiling” or “stays smiling” in English?

It’s very close to both, but the literal idea is “remains / stays smiling.”

• Paul reste souriant pendant le match.
  • Literal: Paul remains / stays smiling during the match.
  • Natural: Paul stays cheerful throughout the match.

If you want to stress the ongoing effort or repeated action, “keeps smiling” is also a good translation:

• Paul keeps smiling during the match.

So:

• “stays / remains smiling” → closer to the structure of reste souriant.
• “keeps smiling” → good if you want to emphasize the idea that he does not stop smiling.