Learn Hardcore French: Paul trouve ces outils numériques utiles, mais il coupe Internet après dix heures. - Paul finds these digital tools useful, but he cuts off the internet after ten o'clock.

In Paul trouve ces outils numériques utiles, does trouve mean “find” (like finding a lost object) or “think/consider”? How does this structure work?

In this sentence, trouve means “considers / thinks”, not “physically finds”.

Structure: trouver + direct object + adjective

Paul trouve = Paul finds / considers
ces outils numériques = these digital tools (direct object)
utiles = useful (adjective)

So trouver quelque chose + adjectif often means:

Paul trouve ces outils numériques utiles.
→ Paul thinks these digital tools are useful / considers them useful.

If you wanted “physically find”, you’d normally add a location or context:

Paul trouve ses outils dans le garage.
→ Paul finds his tools in the garage.

Why is it utiles (plural) and not utile (singular)?

Utiles agrees with outils, which is plural:

un outil utile → a useful tool
des outils utiles → useful tools

In French, adjectives usually agree in gender and number with the noun they describe:

Masculine singular: utile (un outil utile)
Masculine plural: utiles (des outils utiles)
Feminine singular: utile (une méthode utile)
Feminine plural: utiles (des méthodes utiles)

Since outils is masculine plural, the adjective must be utiles.

Could I say Paul trouve que ces outils numériques sont utiles instead? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say that, and it’s perfectly correct:

Paul trouve ces outils numériques utiles.
Paul trouve que ces outils numériques sont utiles.

Both mean essentially the same thing: Paul thinks these digital tools are useful.

Differences in feel:

trouver + COD + adjectif (trouve ces outils utiles)
- A bit more compact and slightly more “direct”.
- Common in speech and writing.
trouver que + sujet + verbe (trouve que ces outils numériques sont utiles)
- Feels a bit more “clausal”, like English “I think that…”.
- Also very natural and frequent.

In many contexts they’re interchangeable; choice is mostly style.

Why is it ces outils numériques and not les outils numériques or des outils numériques?

ces = these / those (demonstrative adjective)
les = the (definite article)
des = some (indefinite plural article)

Ces outils numériques points to specific tools that are present in the situation or already known from context:

Paul trouve ces outils numériques utiles.
→ Paul finds these (particular) digital tools useful.

Compare:

Paul trouve les outils numériques utiles.
→ Paul finds digital tools (in general) useful.
Paul trouve des outils numériques utiles.
→ Paul finds some digital tools useful (not all, unspecified which).

So ces shows we’re talking about particular tools, not digital tools in general.

Why is it outils numériques and not something like outils digitaux? Is there a difference?

Both numérique and digital exist in French, but their usual uses differ:

numérique
- The standard, neutral word for digital (electronic / IT-related).
- outils numériques = digital tools (apps, platforms, online tools, etc.).
digital
- Historically means “relating to fingers” (from digitus = finger).
- In modern usage, under the influence of English, digital is used more and more in marketing, tech, etc. (e.g. marketing digital), but can still sound a bit buzzword-y or less neutral than numérique in some contexts.

In educational or neutral contexts, outils numériques is the safest and most standard choice.

What exactly does il coupe Internet mean? Is couper here like “cut” or like “turn off / disconnect”?

In this context, couper Internet means to cut off / disconnect the Internet, like turning off access:

couper here ≈ “shut off / cut off / turn off (a service)”
- couper Internet → cut off the Internet
- couper l’électricité → cut off the electricity
- couper le son → mute / cut the sound

It doesn’t mean he is “cutting” the physical cables with scissors; it means he deactivates the connection (router, Wi‑Fi, etc.).

Alternative expressions with a similar meaning:

il coupe la connexion Internet
il coupe le Wi-Fi
il désactive Internet / le Wi-Fi
il éteint la box (informal; “he turns off the router/modem”).

Why is it Internet without an article? Could I say il coupe l’Internet?

In modern everyday French, Internet is most often used without an article, especially in expressions about access:

couper Internet
avoir Internet
installer Internet
surfer sur Internet (with preposition sur, but no le)

You may see l’Internet or le réseau Internet in very formal, technical, or older texts, but il coupe l’Internet sounds unusual in everyday speech.

So the natural version here is:

Il coupe Internet = He cuts the Internet (connection) off.

Why is the verb in the present tense (trouve, coupe) if this is a repeated or habitual action?

French uses the simple present for:

General truths / opinions
- Paul trouve ces outils numériques utiles.
  → Paul thinks they’re useful (in general).
Habits / routines
- Il coupe Internet après dix heures.
  → He (always / usually) cuts off the Internet after ten o’clock.

This is the same as the English simple present (“He cuts off the internet after ten”). There is no special “habitual” tense in French; the present covers that meaning when context indicates repetition.

Why is it après dix heures and not après dix heure? How do time expressions like this work?

Heure is plural after numbers greater than one:

une heure → one o’clock / one hour
deux heures → two o’clock / two hours
dix heures → ten o’clock

So you must say après dix heures (after ten o’clock), with heures in the plural.

Common patterns with time:

à dix heures → at ten o’clock
après dix heures → after ten o’clock
avant dix heures → before ten o’clock
vers dix heures → around ten o’clock
après dix heures du soir → after ten p.m.
après 22 heures → after 22:00 (24‑hour style, very common in French).

Why do we need il in mais il coupe Internet? Can we drop the subject pronoun like in Spanish or Italian?

French is not a “pro‑drop” language: the subject pronoun is almost always required.

Correct: … mais il coupe Internet après dix heures.
Incorrect: … mais coupe Internet après dix heures.

Even though we clearly know we’re still talking about Paul, French grammar requires a subject (il) with a conjugated verb (coupe). The subject pronoun tells us who is doing the action and is not normally omitted in standard French.

Why is mais used here? Could we replace it with pourtant or cependant?

Mais is a coordinating conjunction meaning “but”. It directly connects two clauses:

Paul trouve ces outils numériques utiles, mais il coupe Internet après dix heures.
→ He finds them useful, but he cuts off the internet after ten.

You could use pourtant or cependant, but they behave a bit differently:

pourtant / cependant are usually adverbs, often starting a new clause or sentence:
- Paul trouve ces outils numériques utiles. Pourtant, il coupe Internet après dix heures.
- Paul trouve ces outils numériques utiles. Cependant, il coupe Internet après dix heures.

Differences:

mais: more direct, neutral, very common in speech and writing.
pourtant / cependant: slightly more formal or written, often introduce a contrast as a separate sentence or after a semicolon.

Here, mais is the most natural and straightforward choice.

Why is the order ces outils numériques utiles and not ces utiles outils numériques? How does adjective order work here?

In ces outils numériques utiles, both adjectives come after the noun:

outils (noun)
numériques (adjective 1)
utiles (adjective 2)

General rules:

Most adjectives come after the noun (especially factual ones: color, shape, nationality, technical qualities, etc.).
Some common, short adjectives usually go before the noun (BAGS rule: Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size): beau, jeune, bon, grand, etc.

Here:

numériques = related to digital technology (classifying, technical quality) → normally after noun.
utiles = useful (descriptive quality) → also after noun.

With multiple adjectives after the noun, the order often goes from more intrinsic or classification-like to more subjective/descriptive:

ces outils numériques utiles
→ tools that are digital, and among that category, they are useful.

Ces utiles outils numériques is grammatically possible but sounds odd and very marked in style, almost poetic or emphatic, and not natural for ordinary speech. The neutral, standard order is ces outils numériques utiles.