Learn French: Notre équipe n'a pas de chance. - Our team doesn't have any luck.

Notre équipe n'a pas de chance.

Our team doesn't have any luck.

Breakdown of Notre équipe n'a pas de chance.

avoir

to have

not (used before the verb)

pas

not (used after the verb)

of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)

Questions & Answers about Notre équipe n'a pas de chance.

Why is it pas de chance instead of pas de la chance?

In French, when you talk about having "luck" generally, you use the partitive article de la, as in elle a de la chance (she has luck). However, in a negative sentence, partitive articles like du, de la, and des change to simply de (or d' before a vowel). This shows an absolute zero quantity, meaning "not any" luck at all.

The word équipe is feminine. Do I need a feminine form of notre?

No, notre means "our" for both masculine and feminine singular nouns. Unlike words like mon and ma (my), it only changes if the noun is plural. If you were talking about multiple teams, you would use the plural form nos équipes.

Why is the ne attached to the verb as n'a?

The negative word ne always drops its e and uses an apostrophe when the very next word starts with a vowel or a silent h. Here, it attaches to the vowel a (has) to make the sentence flow better when spoken.

Does the French word chance mean the same thing as the English word "chance"?

Not quite! While it can sometimes mean "chance" or "probability", in this common phrase, avoir de la chance means "to have luck" or "to be lucky". If you want to talk about having an "opportunity" to do something, French usually uses the word une occasion.