Learn Hardcore French: Nous travaillons dans l'atelier aujourd'hui.

In French, you normally must keep the subject pronoun (here, nous).
Unlike English, you can’t usually drop it:
- English: “Are working in the workshop today.” ❌ (wrong, missing subject)
- French: Travaillons dans l’atelier aujourd’hui. ❌ (feels incomplete)
Very colloquially in speech you might hear dropped pronouns, but as a learner you should always keep nous.

Why is it travaillons and not just travailler?

Travaillons is the conjugated form of the verb travailler (to work) for nous in the present tense.

Infinitive: travailler = to work
Present tense:
- je travaille – I work
- tu travailles – you work (singular, informal)
- il/elle/on travaille – he/she/one works
- nous travaillons – we work
- vous travaillez – you work (plural / formal)
- ils/elles travaillent – they work

French always changes the verb ending to match the subject; you can’t use the infinitive (travailler) by itself in this sentence.

Does nous travaillons mean “we work” or “we are working”?

It can mean both.

French present tense covers:
- we work (habitual)
- we are working (right now)

Context decides which one is meant:

Nous travaillons dans l’atelier aujourd’hui.
→ In English, you’d naturally say: We are working in the workshop today.

If you really want to stress “right now, in progress,” you can say:

Nous sommes en train de travailler dans l’atelier.
But it’s not always necessary; the simple present is very common.

Why is it dans l’atelier and not à l’atelier? What’s the difference?

Both can be heard, but there’s a nuance:

dans l’atelier literally: in the workshop, inside the space.
à l’atelier more like: at the workshop, at that location (not focusing on being physically inside).

In many contexts they overlap, but:

If you want to emphasize you’re working inside the workshop, dans l’atelier is clearer and more literal.

In this sentence, dans l’atelier is the straightforward choice.

Why is it l’atelier and not le atelier?

Atelier is a masculine noun, so its article is le in theory: le atelier.

However, French avoids a clash of vowel sounds between the article and the noun.

le
- atelier → l’atelier (the e is dropped and replaced by an apostrophe).

This process is called elision and it happens before words that start with a vowel or silent h:

le ami → l’ami
la école → l’école

So l’atelier still means the workshop, and it is grammatically masculine.

What exactly does atelier mean? Is it only “workshop”?

Atelier usually means:

A workshop (place where things are made, repaired, or crafted)
An artist’s studio (painter, sculptor, etc.)
In some contexts, a practical class / small group session (e.g. un atelier d’écriture = a writing workshop).

In this sentence, it’s the normal, physical workshop meaning.

How do you pronounce nous travaillons dans l’atelier aujourd’hui?

Rough guide using English-like sounds (not perfect, but close):

nous → “noo” (like new but with a pure “oo”)
travaillons → “tra-vai-yon”
- tra like tra in travel
- vai like vie in “vie” (English vy), more like “vah-ee” → “vai”
- llons → “yon” (nasal on sound)
dans → “don” (nasal, not dawn exactly)
l’atelier → “la-tuh-lyay”
aujourd’hui → “oh-zhoor-dwee”

Flowing together:

nous travaillons → “noo tra-vai-yon”
dans l’atelier → “don la-tuh-lyay”
aujourd’hui → “oh-zhoor-dwee”

There is a liaison between nous and travaillons in careful speech: the s in nous sounds like a z: nouz travaillons.

Where can I put aujourd’hui in the sentence? Is its position fixed?

Aujourd’hui is quite flexible. All of these are correct:

Nous travaillons dans l’atelier aujourd’hui.
Aujourd’hui, nous travaillons dans l’atelier.
Nous travaillons aujourd’hui dans l’atelier. (less common, but possible)

Most natural for a neutral statement is usually:

Aujourd’hui, nous travaillons dans l’atelier.
or
Nous travaillons dans l’atelier aujourd’hui.

The meaning doesn’t really change, just the emphasis in spoken language.

Is aujourd’hui one word or two? And what does it literally mean?

It’s one word: aujourd’hui.

Literally it comes from:

au jour d’hui → “on the day of today”

In modern French it simply means today. Don’t split it into aujourd’ hui or au jour d’hui in writing; that’s outdated or incorrect in contemporary usage.

Could I say On travaille dans l’atelier aujourd’hui instead of Nous travaillons…?

Yes, and in spoken French, on is extremely common.

Nous travaillons dans l’atelier aujourd’hui.
On travaille dans l’atelier aujourd’hui.

Both mean We are working in the workshop today.

Differences:

nous is more formal/standard, especially in writing.
on is very common in everyday conversation and sounds more natural in many contexts.

In terms of grammar:

on always uses the 3rd person singular verb form: on travaille, not on travaillons.

Why is there no article before aujourd’hui, while there is one before atelier?

Atelier is a common noun, so it normally needs an article:
- l’atelier = the workshop
Aujourd’hui behaves like an adverb of time (like “today”, “yesterday”, “tomorrow” in English), and adverbs don’t take articles:
- aujourd’hui, hier, demain – all without articles.

So:

dans l’atelier (in the workshop)
aujourd’hui (today, no article)

How would I make this sentence negative?

Use ne… pas around the conjugated verb:

Nous ne travaillons pas dans l’atelier aujourd’hui.
→ We are not working in the workshop today.

In spoken French, people often drop the ne (informally):

Nous travaillons pas dans l’atelier aujourd’hui. (very informal)

As a learner, especially in writing, you should keep ne… pas.

How can I change the tense to say “We worked in the workshop today” (past)?

Use the passé composé with avoir:

Nous avons travaillé dans l’atelier aujourd’hui.
→ We worked in the workshop today. / We have worked in the workshop today.

Structure:

nous (subject)
avons (auxiliary, avoir in present for nous)
travaillé (past participle of travailler)

So:

Present: Nous travaillons dans l’atelier aujourd’hui.
Past: Nous avons travaillé dans l’atelier aujourd’hui.