Learn Hardcore French: Non seulement Paul lit des romans, mais il écoute aussi des podcasts de philosophie pendant le trajet. - Not only does Paul read novels, but he also listens to philosophy podcasts during the commute.

The “full” pattern is usually « non seulement X, mais aussi Y ».
Here, aussi is placed after the verb (écoute) to keep the rhythm natural: « mais il écoute aussi des podcasts ». This is very standard and idiomatic.

Why doesn’t French use inversion like English does in “Not only does Paul read novels…”?

English often uses inversion after “not only”: “Not only does Paul read…”.

In French, you don’t need inversion here. The normal word order is kept:

✅ Non seulement Paul lit des romans…

You can make a very formal or literary version with inversion:

Non seulement Paul lit-il des romans, mais il écoute aussi des podcasts…

…but this sounds elevated or old‑fashioned in everyday speech. The neutral, natural version is exactly the sentence you have.

What verb is « lit », and how is it conjugated?

« Lit » is the 3rd person singular (il/elle) form of the verb lire (to read) in the present tense.

Present of lire:

je lis
tu lis
il / elle / on lit
nous lisons
vous lisez
ils / elles lisent

So « Paul lit des romans » = “Paul reads novels.”

Why is it « des romans » and not « les romans » or just « romans »?

« Des » here is the indefinite plural article: the plural of un/une.

un roman = a novel
des romans = (some) novels / novels in general (not specific ones)

If you said « les romans », it would mean “the novels”, i.e. specific novels already known in context.

You can’t just say « Paul lit romans »; in French, plural countable nouns almost always need a determiner, so « des romans » is required.

Why is it also « des podcasts de philosophie »? Is this the same des?

Yes. Here too, « des » is the indefinite plural article:

un podcast → des podcasts
un podcast de philosophie → des podcasts de philosophie

So « des podcasts de philosophie » means “(some) philosophy podcasts” or “philosophy-related podcasts” in general, not specific ones that we already know about.

Why is it « il écoute » and not « il entend »?

French distinguishes:

écouter = to listen (to) → active, intentional
entendre = to hear → passive, just perceiving sound

Podcasts are something you intentionally listen to, so « il écoute des podcasts » is natural.

« Il entend des podcasts » would sound odd, as if he just happens to hear them in the background without trying.

Where can « aussi » go in this sentence? Are there other correct positions?

In your sentence, « il écoute aussi des podcasts… » is very natural: aussi goes right after the verb.

Other options (all grammatically possible, with slightly different rhythm/emphasis):

Il écoute des podcasts de philosophie aussi pendant le trajet.
→ Focuses a bit more on “podcasts” themselves.
Il écoute des podcasts aussi, de philosophie, pendant le trajet.
→ More spoken, adds a small pause before specifying “de philosophie”.

But be careful: if aussi is at the very beginning of a sentence (« Aussi, il écoute… »), it often means “therefore / so”, not “also”. So the safest for learners is exactly what you have: « il écoute aussi des podcasts… ».

What’s the nuance of « podcasts de philosophie »? Could I say « podcasts sur la philosophie » or « podcasts philosophiques »?

All three are possible, with slightly different feels:

des podcasts de philosophie
→ Very natural; means “podcasts whose subject area is philosophy.”
des podcasts sur la philosophie
→ Literally “podcasts about philosophy”; emphasizes the topic of the episodes.
des podcasts philosophiques
→ More “adjectival”; suggests the podcasts are of a philosophical nature or style, and can sound a bit more formal or literary.

In everyday speech, « des podcasts de philosophie » or « des podcasts sur la philosophie » are the most usual.

What exactly does « pendant le trajet » mean, and why is it « le »?

« Pendant le trajet » literally means “during the journey/ride/commute”. « Trajet » is the trip from one point to another (to work, to school, etc.).

The article « le » is generic here: “during the journey (i.e., his usual commute)”. French often uses le in this kind of general, habitual sense.

You could be more specific with:

pendant son trajet = during his journey/commute
pendant le trajet du matin = during the morning commute

But « pendant le trajet » alone is very idiomatic when context makes clear which trip you’re talking about.

Can I drop the second « il » and say « Non seulement Paul lit des romans, mais écoute aussi des podcasts… »?

No, not in that form. In French, subject pronouns are normally repeated for each clause:

✅ Non seulement Paul lit des romans, mais il écoute aussi des podcasts.
❌ Non seulement Paul lit des romans, mais écoute aussi des podcasts.

If the subject were a full noun, you could restructure the sentence:

Paul non seulement lit des romans, mais écoute aussi des podcasts.

Here, Paul is the shared subject for both verbs.
But when using just « il », you must repeat it after mais.

Could I move « non seulement » to after the subject, like « Paul non seulement lit des romans… »?

Yes. Two common patterns are:

Non seulement Paul lit des romans, mais il écoute aussi des podcasts…
→ Focus a bit on Paul as the person who does both things.
Paul non seulement lit des romans, mais il écoute aussi des podcasts…
→ Focus more on the two actions Paul does.

Both are correct. The key idea is that « non seulement » goes right before the element you want to emphasize (subject, verb, or even object in other sentences).

Why is there a comma before « mais »? Is it necessary?

In French, mais (but) usually introduces a separate clause, and it’s standard to put a comma before mais:

…, mais il écoute aussi des podcasts…

This comma marks the pause and the contrast between “not only X” and “but also Y”.
In normal writing, you should keep that comma.