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Ils n'effacent pas le document.

Ils n'effacent pas le document.
They do not erase the document.
From Lesson 87:Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)·French

Questions & Answers about Ils n'effacent pas le document.

Why is it n'effacent instead of ne effacent?
In French, when the negative word ne comes right before a verb starting with a vowel (like effacent), the e is dropped and replaced with an apostrophe. This makes the phrase flow better.
How do you pronounce the -ent at the end of effacent?
The -ent ending for plural verbs (with ils or elles) is always completely silent. You just pronounce the base of the verb, meaning effacent sounds exactly the same as the singular form efface.
Is there a liaison (a connected 'z' sound) between Ils and n'effacent?
No. While Ils often links with a 'z' sound to a following vowel (like in Ils effacent), the negative particle n' starts with a consonant sound. Because of this, the 's' in Ils remains silent.
The verb is effacer. Why isn't there a cedilla under the 'c' (ç)?
A cedilla is only added to a 'c' to keep it sounding soft (like an 's') before the vowels 'a', 'o', or 'u' (for example, nous effaçons). Since the ending here starts with an 'e' (-ent), the 'c' is already soft, so no cedilla is needed.

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