Question 1

Why is it pas d'alcool and not pas de l'alcool?

Accepted Answer

This is the main rule for absolute negation. In French, when you say you do not consume or have any of something, the usual articles (un, une, des, or partitives like de l') turn into a simple de or d'. Since alcool starts with a vowel, we use d'. So instead of pas de l'alcool, it becomes pas d'alcool.

Question 2

What would this sentence look like if she did drink alcohol?

Accepted Answer

If the sentence were positive, you would use the partitive article (meaning "some"). You would say elle boit de l'alcool. When you make it negative, that entire de l' is replaced by d'.

Question 3

Why doesn't une allergie change to d'allergie too?

Accepted Answer

The rule that changes articles to de or d' only happens right after a negative verb. In this sentence, the first verb is positive (elle a, meaning "she has"), so we keep the normal article une. Only the second verb is negative (elle ne boit pas), so only the alcohol gets the d' treatment!

Question 4

Why does boit end in a "t" instead of an "s"?

Accepted Answer

Boit is the conjugated form of the irregular verb boire (to drink) used for il, elle, and on. While the "I" and "you" forms end in an "s" (je bois, tu bois), the "she" form ends in a "t" (elle boit).

Elle a une allergie et elle ne boit pas d'alcool.

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