Question 1

Could I use en or dans here instead of lors de, since we are learning about those prepositions?

Accepted Answer

No, neither works here. You use en to express how long it takes to finish an action (duration to completion) and dans for the waiting time until an action begins. Since a meeting is simply an event that something else happens during, you must use lors de or pendant.

Question 2

Why do we use lors de here instead of pendant?

Accepted Answer

Both mean "during," but lors de points to a specific event or occasion (at the time of the meeting). Pendant emphasizes the actual passage of time from start to finish. Both are grammatically correct here, but lors de is slightly more formal and focuses on the event itself rather than the ticking clock.

Question 3

Why is rien placed between a and dit instead of at the end of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

In compound tenses like the passé composé, short and common negative words like rien (nothing) or jamais (never) go directly between the helping verb (a) and the past participle (dit).

Question 4

Why isn't there a pas in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

The word rien (nothing) takes the place of pas. The negative structure here is ne ... rien. If you used both, you would create a double negative!

Lors de la réunion, il n'a rien dit.

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