Breakdown of Il avait raté le train parce qu'il n'avait pas entendu l'alarme.
il
he
avoir
to have
ne
not (used before the verb)
pas
not (used after the verb)
Questions & Answers about Il avait raté le train parce qu'il n'avait pas entendu l'alarme.
Why do we use avait raté instead of a raté?
This sentence uses the Plus-que-parfait (pluperfect) to translate "had missed". We use this tense to talk about an action that happened before another past action. You form it by taking the imparfait form of the helper verb (here, avait) and adding the past participle (raté).
Where do the negative words ne and pas go when using this tense?
They go on either side of the helper verb, exactly like they do in the passé composé. In n'avait pas entendu, the n' and pas "hug" the helper verb avait, while the past participle entendu comes after.
Can I use manquer instead of rater to say "to miss" here?
Since l'alarme is feminine, shouldn't entendu have an extra -e at the end?