Question 1

How do you pronounce peuvent? Do you say the ent at the end?

Accepted Answer

No, the -ent ending for the "they" form of French verbs is completely silent. You pronounce peuvent almost like "peuhv". This is the plural "they" form of the irregular verb pouvoir (can / to be able to).

Question 2

Why are ne and pas placed around peuvent instead of entrer?

Accepted Answer

In French, the negative words ne and pas act like a sandwich around the conjugated verb. Since peuvent is the conjugated verb (matching elles) and entrer is in the infinitive (the dictionary form), the negative sandwich goes around peuvent: ne peuvent pas.

Question 3

Why is entrer not conjugated?

Accepted Answer

When you have two verbs back-to-back in French, like "can" and "enter", only the first one is conjugated. The second verb stays in its infinitive form (ending in -er, -ir, or -re). That is why we use the unconjugated form entrer right after peuvent.

Question 4

Is the s at the end of sans pronounced here?

Accepted Answer

Yes, because of a rule called liaison. Normally the "s" in sans is silent, but because the next word un starts with a vowel, the "s" wakes up and makes a "z" sound. You pronounce sans un as "sahn-zuhn".

Question 5

Why does the sentence use elles for "they" instead of ils?

Accepted Answer

Elles specifically refers to a group of females (like a group of women or girls). If the group was all male, or a mix of males and females, you would use ils instead. Both mean "they" and would use the exact same verb form: ils ne peuvent pas.

Elles ne peuvent pas entrer sans un billet.

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