Learn Hardcore French: L'application fonctionne mal ce matin. - The app is working poorly this morning.

In English, we usually say “The app isn’t working well” or “The app is acting up”, not “The app functions badly,” but in French, fonctionner + mal is a very natural way to say that something (a device, a system, an app) is not working properly.

So:

L’application fonctionne mal.
= Literally: The app functions badly.
= Naturally: The app isn’t working well / is acting up.

Why is it “mal” and not “mauvais” in “fonctionne mal”?

Because “mal” is an adverb, and “mauvais” is an adjective.

mal describes how something is done (the manner of the action)
→ It modifies a verb: fonctionner
mauvais describes a noun (good/bad quality)
→ It modifies a noun: une mauvaise application (a bad app)

In this sentence:

The verb is fonctionne, so we need an adverb → mal.
✗ L’application fonctionne mauvais is incorrect, because mauvais cannot modify a verb.

Compare:

L’application fonctionne mal. = The app is working badly. (the way it works)
C’est une mauvaise application. = It’s a bad app. (its overall quality)

Can I say “L’application marche mal ce matin” instead of “fonctionne mal”? What’s the difference between marcher and fonctionner?

Yes, you can say “L’application marche mal ce matin”, and it would be understood.

Differences:

fonctionner is a bit more neutral/formal and common in technical or written language for devices, systems, software:
- Le site ne fonctionne pas.
- Le chauffage fonctionne mal.
marcher in this sense is more informal/spoken, very common in everyday speech:
- Le Wi-Fi marche pas.
- Ton téléphone marche encore ?

In many contexts they are interchangeable:

L’application fonctionne mal ce matin.
L’application marche mal ce matin.

Both are acceptable. For a textbook-style sentence, fonctionner is often preferred.

Why is it “L’application” with l’? Is the word masculine or feminine?

Application is a feminine noun in French: une application.

You see l’ because French uses l’ (elision) before any singular noun starting with a vowel or silent “h”, regardless of gender.

la application → becomes l’application (feminine)
le ordinateur → becomes l’ordinateur (masculine)

So:

Gender: feminine → une application, l’application
Article form here: l’ (not le / la) because application starts with a vowel sound.

How do I know that “application” is feminine? Is it always feminine in the “app” sense?

You mainly have to memorize the gender of nouns; there’s no reliable rule that would predict that application is feminine.

Dictionary entries always show the gender:
- application n. f. → nom féminin (feminine noun)

In modern French in the tech sense (“an app”), application is indeed still feminine:

une application mobile
télécharger une application
ouvrir l’application

There is also another meaning of application (like diligence, thoroughness), and that is also feminine:

travailler avec application (to work diligently)

So yes: application is feminine in all its common uses.

Why is “mal” placed after the verb (fonctionne mal) instead of before it?

In French, most short adverbs of manner (how something is done) come after the verb they modify.

Elle parle bien. = She speaks well.
Il conduit mal. = He drives badly.
Ça fonctionne mal. = It works badly.

So:

Correct: L’application fonctionne mal.
Incorrect: ✗ L’application mal fonctionne.

Putting mal after fonctionne is therefore the normal word order.

Is it correct to say “Ce matin, l’application fonctionne mal”? Can the time expression go at the beginning?

Yes, that is perfectly correct and very natural.

Both of these are fine:

L’application fonctionne mal ce matin.
Ce matin, l’application fonctionne mal.

In French (as in English), time expressions can often go at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis or for structuring a narrative:

Hier, il a plu toute la journée.
Demain, je pars tôt.
Ce soir, on sort.

Changing the position slightly changes the rhythm or emphasis, but the meaning is the same.

Why is the present tense used with “ce matin”? Shouldn’t it be past tense if the morning is already happening?

The French present tense is used for actions or states that are true at the time of speaking.

If you say this during the morning (e.g., at 9 a.m.), you use the present:

L’application fonctionne mal ce matin.
= Right now, during this morning that is still ongoing, the app is working badly.

If you talk about earlier this morning, after the fact (for example, in the afternoon), you’d switch to the past:

L’application a mal fonctionné ce matin.
= The app was working badly this morning (but we’re no longer in that time frame).

So:

Morning is still in progress → present: fonctionne mal ce matin
Morning is finished / you are looking back → past: a mal fonctionné ce matin

Is “fonctionner” only used for machines and apps, or can it be used for people too?

Fonctionner is primarily used for things, not people:

Devices, systems, software:
- Le moteur ne fonctionne pas.
- Le système fonctionne bien.
- L’application fonctionne mal.

For people, you usually use other verbs:

aller (to go / to feel) → Ça va ?
travailler (to work) → Il travaille bien.

However, you can use fonctionner in a figurative or colloquial way with people or relationships, but you’re still treating them like a “system”:

Notre couple ne fonctionne plus. = Our relationship doesn’t work anymore.
Ça ne fonctionne pas entre nous. = It doesn’t work between us.

But you wouldn’t say:

✗ Il fonctionne mal ce matin for “He’s not doing well this morning.”
You’d say:
- Il n’est pas en forme ce matin.
- Il va mal ce matin.

How do you pronounce “L’application fonctionne mal ce matin”?

Approximate pronunciation (with rough English hints):

L’application → la-plee-ka-syon
- L’ links to a-: la sound
- applica- → ap-plee-ka
- -tion in French → syon (one syllable, like “syon” in “pasion”)
fonctionne → fonk-syon
- fonc-: the on is nasal (like on in French bon)
- the -c- before tionne gives a /ks/ sound here, hence fonk-syon
- final -e is silent
mal → mal (like “mal” in “maladroit” if you know it; just mal)
ce → sə (like unstressed “suh”)
matin → ma-tɛ̃
- ma- as in English “ma”
- -tin with in as a nasal vowel (similar to French “un” or “vin”)

Spoken smoothly:
L’application fonctionne mal ce matin.
/ la.pli.ka.sjɔ̃ fɔ̃k.sjɔn mal sə ma.tɛ̃ /

What’s the difference between “ce matin” and “aujourd’hui” in this kind of sentence?

ce matin = this morning
- Refers specifically to the morning period of today.
- Used if the problem is limited to that part of the day.
aujourd’hui = today
- Refers to the whole day.

So:

L’application fonctionne mal ce matin.
= The app is working badly this morning (maybe it was fine yesterday or will be fine later).
L’application fonctionne mal aujourd’hui.
= The app is working badly today (throughout the day, more general problem).

You choose depending on how precise you want to be about the time.

How would I say “The app isn’t working at all this morning” using this structure?

You can reinforce the negation using “pas du tout”:

L’application ne fonctionne pas du tout ce matin.
= The app isn’t working at all this morning.

Structure:

ne … pas du tout around the verb:
- ne before fonctionne
- pas du tout after fonctionne

Spoken French often drops ne:

L’application fonctionne pas du tout ce matin. (very common in casual speech)

But in writing or careful speech, keep the full:

L’application ne fonctionne pas du tout ce matin.

Is there a more casual way to say “application” in French, like “app” in English?

Yes, people often say “appli” in informal speech.

So a casual version of the sentence could be:

L’appli fonctionne mal ce matin.

Notes:

appli is feminine as well: une appli
You still use l’ before it (starts with a vowel): l’appli

In formal writing (work emails, documentation, textbooks), application is more standard; in everyday conversation, appli is very common.