Learn French: Ils n'aiment pas le thé ?

Ils n'aiment pas le thé ?

Do they not like tea?

Breakdown of Ils n'aiment pas le thé ?

ils

they (masculine/mixed)

not (used before the verb)

pas

not (used after the verb)

aimer

to like, to love

Questions & Answers about Ils n'aiment pas le thé ?

Wait, the words are in the exact same order as a normal statement. How is this a question?

In French, one of the most common ways to ask a yes/no question is simply to take a regular statement and raise the pitch of your voice at the end, just like you sometimes do in English. In writing, the question mark is the only difference from the statement Ils n'aiment pas le thé.

Why is it n'aiment instead of ne aiment?

The French negative is made of two parts: ne and pas, which surround the verb. Because the verb aiment starts with a vowel, the e in ne is dropped and replaced with an apostrophe to make the sentence flow better.

Why is there a le before thé? In English we just say tea.

In French, when you talk about liking, loving, or hating something in general, you must use a definite article (le, la, or les). So to say you do not like tea, you must include the article and literally say you do not like the tea.

Do I pronounce the -ent at the end of aiment?

No, it is silent! For regular verbs ending in -er, the -ent ending for the they form (ils and elles) is never spoken. You pronounce aiment exactly the same as aime.