Breakdown of Oui, je ne peux pas travailler parce que j'ai de la fièvre et je tousse.
je
I
et
and
oui
yes
avoir
to have
ne
not (used before the verb)
pas
not (used after the verb)
travailler
to work
parce que
because
de la
some (partitive, feminine)
pouvoir
to be able to / can
la fièvre
the fever
tousser
to cough
Questions & Answers about Oui, je ne peux pas travailler parce que j'ai de la fièvre et je tousse.
Why do we need the "que" in "parce que"? Can I just say "parce j'ai de la fièvre"?
Why does "pas" come before "travailler"?
In French, the negation sandwich (ne ... pas) only goes around the conjugated verb. Here, the conjugated verb is peux (can), so it wraps around that to make ne peux pas. The infinitive (unconjugated) verb travailler (to work) simply comes after.
Why does it say "de la fièvre" instead of "une fièvre" (a fever)?
The English translation says "I am coughing", but the French is just "je tousse". Where is the "am"?
French doesn't have a separate "-ing" tense for things happening right now. The simple present tense je tousse covers both "I cough" (in general) and "I am coughing" (right now).
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