Learn French: Il n'a pas eu l'occasion de parler. - He did not have the chance to speak.

Il n'a pas eu l'occasion de parler.

He did not have the chance to speak.

Breakdown of Il n'a pas eu l'occasion de parler.

not (used before the verb)

pas

not (used after the verb)

parler

to speak

avoir l'occasion de

to have the chance to

Questions & Answers about Il n'a pas eu l'occasion de parler.

Why do we say de parler instead of qu'il parle?

This ties into your current lesson! Because the person who didn't have the chance (he) is the same person who would be speaking (he), French avoids using que + a conjugated verb. When the subject is the same for both actions, we use the infinitive. The expression here is avoir l'occasion de, so we just add the infinitive parler.

Does l'occasion mean a special event here?

No, in this context avoir l'occasion de means to have the opportunity to, or the chance to do something. While une occasion can mean a special event or even a second-hand bargain, when followed by de and a verb, it usually translates to having the opportunity.

Why do we need de before parler? Can I just say l'occasion parler?

You need the de because it belongs to the expression avoir l'occasion de. In French, when a noun is followed by an infinitive verb to explain what the noun is for, they are almost always linked by the preposition de.

A quick refresher: why is pas in front of eu?

In the passé composé, the negative words ne and pas act like a sandwich around the conjugated helping verb (here, a). The past participle (eu) always goes after the pas.