Log inSign up

Il n'a pas expliqué cette décision.

Il n'a pas expliqué cette décision.
He did not explain this decision.
From Lesson 74:The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)·French

Questions & Answers about Il n'a pas expliqué cette décision.

Why are the negative words wrapped around a instead of expliqué?
In the passé composé, the negative words ne and pas always go around the helper verb (in this case, a), not the main action verb (expliqué). This is why the correct order is n'a pas expliqué and never n'a expliqué pas.
Why is there an apostrophe in n'a?
The negative word ne drops its 'e' and attaches to the next word with an apostrophe if that word starts with a vowel or a silent 'h'. Since the helper verb a is a vowel, ne a becomes n'a.
Could this sentence also mean "He has not explained this decision"?
Yes! The French passé composé tense can translate to either the English simple past ("He did not explain") or the present perfect ("He has not explained"). Both translations are perfectly correct.
Why do we use cette for "this" instead of ce?
Cette is the feminine form of "this" or "that". It is used here because décision is a feminine noun. A helpful tip: almost all French nouns ending in -sion or -tion are feminine!

Learn Il n'a pas expliqué cette décision and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →