Breakdown of Nous n'avons pas pris le train. Il a eu une panne.
une
a / an (feminine)
il
he
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
avoir
to have
Questions & Answers about Nous n'avons pas pris le train. Il a eu une panne.
Why are n' and pas placed around avons instead of pris?
In the passé composé (past tense), the negative words ne (or n') and pas act like a sandwich around the helping verb—in this case, avons. The past participle (pris) sits outside the sandwich at the end, giving us n'avons pas pris.
Where does the word pris come from?
It is the irregular past participle of the verb prendre (to take). Just like in English we say "taken" instead of "taked", French uses pris instead of a regular ending. It is a very common verb, so it's one you just have to memorize!
Why does the second sentence say a eu? Are those two versions of the verb avoir?
Exactly! To say "it had" in the past tense, you need a helping verb (a) plus the past participle of the main verb. Since the main verb being used is also avoir (to have), its past participle is the irregular word eu. Together, a eu translates to "had" or "has had".