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