Breakdown of Il n'habite pas dans un appartement.
il
he
dans
in, inside
l'appartement
the apartment (m)
ne
not (used before the verb)
Questions & Answers about Il n'habite pas dans un appartement.
Why does habite end in an -e?
Why is it n'habite instead of ne habite?
The French negative is made by putting ne before the verb and pas after it. However, the letter 'h' in habite is silent, so the word sounds like it starts with a vowel. When ne is followed by a vowel sound, it drops the 'e' and attaches with an apostrophe to become n'.
Why is pas placed after the verb instead of before?
In English, we say 'does not live', putting the negative words before the main verb. In French, the negative parts ne and pas act like two pieces of bread sandwiching the conjugated verb. So the structure is always ne + verb + pas.
Could I use à instead of dans for 'in'?
Not in this case. Dans is used when you mean physically inside an enclosed space, like a room, a box, or an apartment. You would use à to say you live in a specific city, like à Paris.