Learn French: Nous avons seulement trois enfants.

Nous avons seulement trois enfants.

We only have three children.

Breakdown of Nous avons seulement trois enfants.

l'enfant

the child

nous

we / us (object pronoun)

Questions & Answers about Nous avons seulement trois enfants.

This lesson is about using "avoir" for age and states like hunger. Is it used the same way here?

Not quite! While you are learning to use avoir (to have) for expressions like avoir faim (to be hungry) or avoir dix ans (to be ten years old), this sentence uses it in its most basic, literal sense: to physically have or possess something. Nous avons simply means "We have."

How do I pronounce the "s" at the end of Nous and trois?

Normally, a final "s" is silent in French. But here, the next words (avons and enfants) start with vowels. This creates a linking sound called a liaison. You pronounce the "s" as a "z" sound to connect them, sounding like "Noo-zah-von" and "trwah-zahn-fahn".

Why does seulement come right after the verb instead of before it like in English?

In English, we usually say "We only have," putting the adverb before the verb. In French, adverbs like seulement (only) are almost always placed directly after the conjugated verb. That is why it is formatted as Nous avons seulement.

Does enfants only mean babies, like the English word "infants"?

No, enfants is a false friend. Even though it looks like the English word "infants," it simply means "children" of any age. If you specifically want to talk about a baby, you would use the word bébé.