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Nous n'avons pas salué le voisin.

Nous n'avons pas salué le voisin.
We did not greet the neighbor.
From Lesson 141:Giving advice (tu devrais, vous devriez)·French

Questions & Answers about Nous n'avons pas salué le voisin.

Why does pas come before salué? Shouldn't it be at the end of the sentence?
In the passé composé (past tense), the negation (ne ... pas) hugs the helping verb, not the whole verb phrase. Since avons is the helping verb here, we say n'avons pas, and the past participle salué (greeted) comes right after.
What exactly does saluer mean in everyday French?
It generally means "to greet" or "to say hello to". While the actual words you speak to the neighbor would be bonjour or bonsoir, saluer describes the physical action of greeting them. It can include waving, giving a polite nod, or saying hello.
Do I make a "Z" sound to connect the words in Nous n'avons?
No, you don't. Normally, in the positive phrase Nous avons, you make a liaison (a connecting "Z" sound: noo zah-vohn). However, the negative n' gets in the way and breaks that connection, so you simply pronounce it "noo nah-vohn".
Since this lesson is about giving advice with devoir, how would I change this to say "We should greet the neighbor"?
You would use the conditional form of devoir along with the unconjugated dictionary form (infinitive) of the main verb. "We should" is Nous devrions, so the sentence becomes Nous devrions saluer le voisin.

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