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Ils ne boivent jamais d'alcool.

Ils ne boivent jamais d'alcool.
They never drink alcohol.
From Lesson 62:Never (ne... jamais)·French

Questions & Answers about Ils ne boivent jamais d'alcool.

How does the word order for "never" work here?
In English, "never" comes before the verb ("never drink"). In French, ne ... jamais works like a sandwich around the conjugated verb, just like ne ... pas. You put ne before the verb and jamais after it: Ils ne boivent jamais.
Why is it d'alcool instead of de l'alcool?
Normally, you would say Ils boivent de l'alcool (They drink alcohol), using de l' to mean "some". However, a major rule in French is that in negative sentences, words for "some" (du, de la, des, de l') change to just de or d'. Since this sentence is made negative with ne ... jamais, de l'alcool drops down to d'alcool.
What is the base verb for boivent and how is it pronounced?
Boivent is the "they" form of the irregular verb boire (to drink). Remember that the -ent ending on conjugated French verbs is completely silent, so boivent is pronounced sounding like "bwav".
Can I drop the ne when speaking naturally?
Yes! Just like with ne ... pas, native French speakers frequently drop the ne in everyday conversation. You will very often hear people say Ils boivent jamais d'alcool. The word jamais by itself is enough to tell the listener you mean "never".

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