Ils n'ont aucune tente pour le camp.

Questions & Answers about Ils n'ont aucune tente pour le camp.

Why is it aucune and not aucun here?
The word tente (tent) is feminine. Because aucun(e) acts as an adjective in this sentence, it has to match the gender of the noun it describes. Therefore, we use the feminine form aucune.
In English, I might say 'They don't have any tents' in the plural. Why is tente singular in French?
The word aucun(e) literally means 'not a single' or 'none'. Because it points to exactly zero of an item, the noun that follows it is almost always singular in French, even if the English translation uses a plural.
Why isn't there a pas in this sentence? Don't we need it to make the sentence negative?
No, ne... aucun(e) is a complete negative structure on its own, just like ne... jamais (never) or ne... plus (no longer). If you added pas, it would create a clunky double negative. You just wrap the verb ont with n' and aucune.
Could I just say Ils n'ont pas de tente instead?
Yes, you could! Ils n'ont pas de tente is a perfectly good way to state the simple fact that they don't have a tent. However, using aucune tente is slightly stronger and more emphatic, translating closer to 'They have absolutely no tent' or 'They don't have a single tent'.

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