Breakdown of Nous n'envoyons pas de chèques ici.
ici
here
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
ne
not (used before the verb)
pas
not (used after the verb)
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
envoyer
to send
le chèque
the check (bank)
Questions & Answers about Nous n'envoyons pas de chèques ici.
This lesson is about verbs changing -yer to -ier. Why does envoyons keep the y?
For verbs like envoyer, the y changes to an i for most subjects, but the nous and vous forms always keep the original y from the infinitive. That is why it is nous envoyons.
Why is it n'envoyons instead of ne envoyons?
Because envoyons starts with a vowel, the negative word ne drops its e and connects directly to the verb with an apostrophe. This makes the words flow together more easily when speaking.
Since chèques is plural, why does the sentence use de chèques instead of des chèques?
The English translation says 'are not sending'. Why doesn't the French sentence use a verb for 'are'?
French does not have a separate tense for actions happening right now. The simple present tense nous envoyons translates to both 'we send' and 'we are sending'. Adding the negative ne ... pas gives you 'we are not sending'.
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