Question 1

How is the Plus-que-parfait formed in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Just like the Passé Composé, the Plus-que-parfait is made of two parts. Instead of using the present tense for the helping verb, you use the Imparfait. Here, we see avoir in the Imparfait (avais and avait) followed by the past participles réparé and prévenu.

Question 2

Where do you put ne and pas in the Plus-que-parfait?

Accepted Answer

In compound tenses, the negation always hugs the helping verb. In n'avait pas prévenu, the n' and pas go right around the Imparfait form of avoir (avait), leaving the past participle outside the negation.

Question 3

Why is the word for "it" translated as elle here?

Accepted Answer

In French, pronouns must match the gender of the noun they replace. Elle usually means "she", but it also means "it" when referring back to a feminine noun. Here, it takes the place of l'alarme, which is feminine.

Question 4

Since the subject elle is feminine, why doesn't prévenu have an extra "e" at the end?

Accepted Answer

Because the helping verb is avoir. With avoir, the past participle only changes to match the gender and number of the direct object if that object comes before the verb. Here, the direct object is les voisins (the neighbors), and it comes after the verb, so prévenu stays in its default form.

Question 5

Is prévenu a false friend? Does it mean "prevented"?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it is often a false friend! While it can sometimes mean "to prevent", prévenir usually means "to warn" or "to let someone know" in French. To say "to prevent" (like stopping an event from happening), French typically uses the verb empêcher.

J'avais réparé l'alarme mais elle n'avait pas prévenu les voisins.

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