Learn French: Pourvu que nous ayons le ticket gagnant. - Let's hope that we have the winning ticket.

When pourvu que is used at the beginning of a standalone sentence without a main clause, it expresses a strong wish or desire for something to happen. It is like saying "Provided that we have the winning ticket, everything will be perfect!" which naturally translates to "Let's hope that..." in English.

Why do we use the subjunctive ayons instead of the present indicative avons?

The conjunction pourvu que always triggers the subjunctive mood. This is because it introduces a condition, a wish, or a hypothetical scenario rather than stating a concrete fact. ayons is the irregular subjunctive form of avoir for nous.

Is gagnant acting as a verb or an adjective in this sentence?

It acts as an adjective here. gagnant is the present participle of the verb gagner (to win). When used as an adjective meaning "winning," it must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies, which in this case is the masculine singular le ticket.

Could we use billet instead of ticket for a lottery ticket?

Absolutely. In French, un billet de loterie is the traditional term for a lottery ticket, so saying le billet gagnant is very natural. The word ticket is also widely used in everyday French, especially for scratch cards or betting slips.