The negative passé composé
To say that you did not do something in the past, place ne (or n' before a vowel) and pas around the helping verb (usually avoir or être). The past participle comes after pas.
| I did not receive your email this morning. | Je n'ai pas reçu ton e-mail ce matin. |
| My alarm clock did not ring today. | Mon réveil n'a pas sonné aujourd'hui. |
Giving reasons and making excuses
The negative passé composé is very useful for explaining why things didn't go as planned. Use parce que (because) to connect what you didn't do to the reason why.
| I did not do this exercise because my alarm clock did not ring. | Je n'ai pas fait cet exercice parce que mon réveil n'a pas sonné. |
You can also use this structure to describe accidents or mistakes, like a mechanical breakdown (une panne):
| We did not take the train. It had a breakdown. | Nous n'avons pas pris le train. Il a eu une panne. |
Or to explain that you forgot your wallet (un portefeuille) or someone broke (casser) your belongings:
| I did not buy the bread. I forgot my wallet! | Je n'ai pas acheté le pain. J'ai oublié mon portefeuille ! |
| I did not use the computer. My brother broke it. | Je n'ai pas utilisé l'ordinateur. Mon frère l'a cassé. |
| I did not take my umbrella this morning! | Je n'ai pas pris mon parapluie ce matin ! |
Oversights and mistakes
When discussing problems at work, you might need to say that someone did not notice (remarquer), check (vérifier), or explain (expliquer) an issue.
| She did not notice this problem. | Elle n'a pas remarqué ce problème. |
| The customer did not check the price. | Le client n'a pas vérifié le prix. |
| He did not explain this decision. | Il n'a pas expliqué cette décision. |
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