French dictionary
tôt/to/
adverb · A2 · Frequency 595
adverb
Meanings
early
Indicates an early time, often used to mean something happens before the expected or usual time.
Examples
Il faut partir tôt pour éviter les embouteillages.
You have to leave early to avoid traffic jams.
Elle arrive tôt au bureau les jours de réunion.
She arrives at the office early on meeting days.
Le boulanger commence tôt son travail.
The baker starts work early.
Collocations
- se lever tôtto get up early
- arriver tôtto arrive soon
Common mistakes
Elle parle trop tôte.
Elle parle trop tôt.
Incorrectly spelling the adverb 'tôt' as 'tôte' — a non-existent form — due to confusion with accented adjectives (e.g., 'bête'); 'tôt' has no circumflex on the final 't' and is always spelled with a circumflex only on the ô.