Paul est désolé après la réunion.

Because désolé is an adjective here, not a past participle used to form a tense.

• Paul est désolé = Paul is sorry
• est comes from être = to be

If you used a (has), you would normally need a verb phrase, not just the adjective:

• Paul a regretté... = Paul regretted...

So in this sentence, French is simply describing Paul’s state: he is sorry.

In French, désolé is one of the most common ways to say sorry, especially when talking about a feeling or state.

It can mean:

• sorry
• regretful
• upset about something

For example:

• Je suis désolé. = I’m sorry.
• Elle est désolée. = She is sorry.

So Paul est désolé literally looks like Paul is sorry/regretful, which is very natural French.

Because Paul is masculine.

French adjectives usually agree with the noun or person they describe:

• masculine singular: désolé
• feminine singular: désolée
• masculine plural: désolés
• feminine plural: désolées

So:

• Paul est désolé.
• Marie est désolée.

The extra -e in the feminine form is usually not strongly pronounced differently here, but it still has to be written.

Because French usually uses an article where English often does too, and sometimes where English might not emphasize it as much.

• la réunion = the meeting

Réunion is a feminine noun, so it takes la in the singular.

You would not normally say just après réunion in standard French. The article is needed:

• après la réunion = after the meeting

Yes, réunion is feminine:

• une réunion
• la réunion

Unfortunately, grammatical gender often has to be memorized with the noun. A good habit is to learn nouns with their article:

• not just réunion
• but la réunion

That way you automatically remember that it is feminine.

Because après is a preposition that is followed directly by a noun phrase.

So you say:

• après la réunion = after the meeting
• après le cours = after class/the lesson
• après le dîner = after dinner

You do not add de after après in this kind of structure.

Yes. French word order is flexible enough that this time phrase can move, depending on emphasis or style.

All of these are possible:

• Paul est désolé après la réunion.
• Après la réunion, Paul est désolé.

The original version is very straightforward and neutral. Putting Après la réunion first gives a little more emphasis to the time.

Here, après means after in a time sense.

So:

• après la réunion = after the meeting

It can also be used in other contexts:

• après le travail = after work
• après toi = after you

In this sentence, it tells us when Paul is sorry.

In normal speech, est is usually pronounced like eh when it is the verb être in the third person singular.

So:

• Paul est désolé sounds roughly like Pol eh day-zo-lay

The t in est is normally not pronounced here.

Also, there is generally no liaison between est and désolé, so you do not usually say a t sound linking them.

A rough guide:

• désolé ≈ day-zo-lay
• réunion ≈ ray-yu-nyon

A few details:

• The accents in désolé help show the vowel sounds: é is like ay.
• In réunion, the u is a French sound that does not exist exactly in English, so learners often need practice with it.
• The ending -ion in réunion is pronounced as one nasal-style ending, roughly nyon.

Yes, they matter in spelling and often help with pronunciation.

In this sentence:

• désolé has é
• réunion has é

The accent é usually tells you the vowel is pronounced like ay.

Accents in French are not optional in correct writing. They can:

• change pronunciation
• distinguish words
• show standard spelling

So it is important to write:

• désolé, not desole
• réunion, not reunion

No, not by itself.

Paul est désolé après la réunion means Paul is sorry after the meeting. It describes his state or feeling.

If you want Paul apologizes after the meeting, French would usually use a verb such as:

• Paul s’excuse après la réunion. = Paul apologizes after the meeting.

So:

• être désolé = to be sorry
• s’excuser = to apologize

Yes.

• est is the present tense of être
• So Paul est désolé literally means Paul is sorry

Even though après la réunion refers to a time after something else, the main verb is still in the present tense. The sentence describes Paul’s state at that time.