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Tôt and tard are irregular adverbs.
Tôt means early in a general, non-measurable sense:
early in the day, or in one's life, one's career, relationship, in a film, book, etc.
Likewise, tard means late in the sense of late in the day (or in one's life, career, etc.).
En avance (early), en retard (late),
à l'heure (on time) are invariable phrases, i.e. they have only one form. They always refer to a schedule:
en avance means early in the sense of
ahead of schedule and en retard means late, behind schedule. They are usually used with 'être' and verbs of
movement like 'arriver', 'partir', 'rentrer', 'revenir': in other words, the verbs from the Alamo of être.
They are placed at the end of the sentence.
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| Tex et Bette sont devant PCL. |
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Tex and Bette are outside PCL. |
| Bette: Qui est-ce que tu attends, Tex? |
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Bette: Who are you waiting for Tex? |
| Tex: Oh, comme d'habitude, j'attends Edouard. Il est en retard. Il n'est jamais à l'heure. |
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Tex: Oh, as usual, I'm waiting for Edouard. He is late. He is never on time. |
| Bette: Moi, je suis toujours à l'heure. Et j'arrive même en avance quand j'ai rendez-vous avec quelqu'un comme toi: digne, intelligent, sophistiqué, beau ... |
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Bette: I am always on time. And I even arrive early when I'm meeting someone like you: dignified, intelligent, sophisticated, handsome ... |
| Tex: Bof ... Tu crois qu'il est trop tôt pour parler mariage avec Tammy? |
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Tex: Bof ... Do you think it is too early to discuss marriage with Tammy? |
| Bette: Certainement! Il est beaucoup trop tôt. Tu dois attendre! Regarde l'heure. Il est tard. On y va? |
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Bette: Certainly! It is much too early. You have to wait! Look at the time. It is late. Shall we go? |
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