Learn French: Pourquoi est-ce qu'ils n'ont pas reçu le message ?

Pourquoi est-ce qu'ils n'ont pas reçu le message ?

Why did they not receive the message?

Breakdown of Pourquoi est-ce qu'ils n'ont pas reçu le message ?

ils

they (masculine/mixed)

not (used before the verb)

Questions & Answers about Pourquoi est-ce qu'ils n'ont pas reçu le message ?

Where exactly do the negative words go in this sentence?

In the passé composé, ne and pas act like a sandwich around the helping verb. Here, they surround ont to make n'ont pas. The action word, reçu (received), stays outside the sandwich at the end.

Why is it n'ont instead of ne ont?

When ne comes right before a word starting with a vowel (like the 'o' in ont), it drops its 'e' and combines with the next word using an apostrophe. This makes the sentence flow better when spoken.

Why does est-ce que change to est-ce qu'ils here?

Just like ne, the word que drops its 'e' when the very next word starts with a vowel sound. Because ils starts with an 'i', que + ils becomes qu'ils.

Why is there a little hook under the 'c' in reçu?

That mark is called a cédille (ç). In French, the letter 'c' usually makes a hard 'k' sound when followed by 'a', 'o', or 'u'. Adding the cédille forces it to make a soft 's' sound instead. Without it, recu would sound like 'ruh-koo'!