Breakdown of Je n'ai pas pris mon parapluie ce matin !
je
I
avoir
to have
ne
not (used before the verb)
pas
not (used after the verb)
ce
this (before a noun)
prendre
to have (a meal/drink) / to take
mon
my (mon, ma, mes)
le matin
the morning
le parapluie
the umbrella
Questions & Answers about Je n'ai pas pris mon parapluie ce matin !
Why is the negative built as n'ai pas pris instead of n'ai pris pas?
In the passé composé (past tense), the negative words ne and pas act like a sandwich around the helping verb, not the main action word. Here, the helping verb is ai (have). So the order is ne + ai + pas, followed by the main action pris (taken). Because ai starts with a vowel, ne drops its 'e' and becomes n'.
Where does the word pris come from?
Pris is the past participle (past tense form) of the verb prendre (to take). Just like in English where "take" becomes the irregular "taken" instead of "taked", prendre is an irregular verb in French. You just have to memorize that its past form is pris.
Why do we use mon for "my umbrella"?
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