Log inSign up

Il n'y a pas de nouveau chemin rapide.

Il n'y a pas de nouveau chemin rapide.
There is no fast new path.
From Lesson 27:Adjective placement·French

Questions & Answers about Il n'y a pas de nouveau chemin rapide.

Why is nouveau before the noun, but rapide comes after?
In French, most adjectives like rapide (fast) go after the noun they describe. However, a small group of common adjectives goes before the noun. You can remember them with the acronym BAGS (Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size). Since nouveau (new) describes age/newness, it goes before chemin.
Why is it pas de nouveau chemin instead of pas un nouveau chemin?
In negative sentences, the words for "a", "an", or "some" (un, une, des) change to de (or d' before a vowel). Since we are saying "There is no (not a) fast new path", the expected un changes to de.
Why do we use nouveau here instead of nouvelle or nouvel?
Adjectives must match the noun they describe. chemin is a masculine singular noun starting with a consonant, so we use the standard masculine singular form nouveau. You would use nouvelle for a feminine noun, and nouvel for a masculine noun that starts with a vowel sound.
How does Il n'y a pas work to mean "There is no"?
The basic phrase for "there is" or "there are" is Il y a. To make it negative, we put ne and pas around the verb a. The ne shrinks to n' because the word next to it (y) acts as a vowel, giving us Il n'y a pas.

Learn Il n'y a pas de nouveau chemin rapide and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →