Paul se fâche quand le bus est encore en retard.

Se fâcher is a reflexive verb, and in this expression it means to get angry.

The se is the reflexive pronoun. With Paul, it becomes:

• Paul se fâche = Paul gets angry

In other persons, it changes:

• Je me fâche
• Tu te fâches
• Il/Elle se fâche
• Nous nous fâchons
• Vous vous fâchez
• Ils/Elles se fâchent

You usually need to learn se fâcher as a whole expression, not just fâcher by itself.

They are related, but not exactly the same.

• se fâcher = to get angry, to become angry
• être fâché = to be angry

So:

• Paul se fâche focuses on the change/reaction
• Paul est fâché focuses on the state

In this sentence, Paul se fâche quand le bus est encore en retard suggests that the bus being late causes Paul to react and get angry.

Quand means when.

It introduces the time clause:

• quand le bus est encore en retard = when the bus is still late

It is the normal, everyday word for when in this kind of sentence. You could also sometimes see lorsque, which is a bit more formal, but quand is completely natural here.

French often uses the present tense to talk about something habitual, typical, or generally true.

So this sentence can mean something like:

• Paul gets angry whenever the bus is still late.

It is not necessarily happening only right now. It can describe a repeated situation or a general pattern.

That is why both parts are in the present:

• Paul se fâche
• le bus est encore en retard

Here, encore most naturally means still:

• le bus est encore en retard = the bus is still late

But encore can also mean again in other contexts. That is why it can sometimes confuse learners.

For example:

• Il est encore là. = He is still there.
• Fais-le encore. = Do it again.

In this sentence, with en retard, the idea is usually still late.

Le bus means the bus.

French often uses the definite article when talking about a specific thing that is understood from the situation. Here, it is probably the bus Paul is expecting or usually takes.

• le bus = the bus, the known bus
• un bus = a bus, any bus

So le bus sounds natural if both speaker and listener know which bus is being talked about.

En retard is the normal French expression for late.

Examples:

• Je suis en retard. = I am late.
• Le train est en retard. = The train is late.
• Le bus est encore en retard. = The bus is still late.

You should learn en retard as a fixed expression. French does not usually use an adjective here in the same way English does.

Because en retard is a fixed idiomatic expression.

French often uses en + noun in set phrases:

• en retard = late
• en avance = early
• en colère = angry
• en vacances = on vacation

So you do not say en le retard or en un retard here.

In simple tenses, short adverbs like encore, souvent, déjà, and toujours often come after the conjugated verb.

So:

• le bus est encore en retard

This is the normal word order.

Very roughly:

• subject + verb + adverb + rest

Here:

• le bus = subject
• est = verb
• encore = adverb
• en retard = rest of the expression

Yes. Se mettre en colère is another common way to say to get angry.

So:

• Paul se fâche = Paul gets angry
• Paul se met en colère = Paul gets angry / becomes angry

They are close in meaning, but se fâcher is often very direct and common in everyday speech. Se mettre en colère can sound a little more formal or descriptive, depending on context.

Yes, but the meaning changes.

• se fâcher = to get angry
• fâcher quelqu’un = to anger someone, to upset someone

Examples:

• Paul se fâche. = Paul gets angry.
• Ce retard fâche Paul. = This delay upsets Paul / makes Paul angry.

So the reflexive form and the non-reflexive form are connected, but they are not used the same way.

Most naturally, it describes a repeated or typical situation.

• Paul se fâche quand le bus est encore en retard.

This sounds like something that happens regularly: whenever the bus is still late, Paul gets angry.

If you wanted to make one single past event clear, French would usually change the tense, for example:

• Paul s’est fâché quand le bus était encore en retard.

So the present tense here strongly suggests a general habit or usual reaction.