Learn French: Est-ce que tu te souviens de cette coquille dans le chapitre ? Je ne m'en souviens guère. - Do you remember this misprint in the chapter? I hardly remember it.

Word

Est-ce que tu te souviens de cette coquille dans le chapitre ? Je ne m'en souviens guère.

Meaning

Do you remember this misprint in the chapter? I hardly remember it.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

French

Lesson

Restrictive negation (ne... guère)

Breakdown of Est-ce que tu te souviens de cette coquille dans le chapitre ? Je ne m'en souviens guère.

you (informal singular)

dans

in, inside

not (used before the verb)

Questions & Answers about Est-ce que tu te souviens de cette coquille dans le chapitre ? Je ne m'en souviens guère.

Why is there no pas in the second sentence?

The word guère replaces pas in this type of negation. Just like ne ... jamais or ne ... plus, ne ... guère is a two-part negative structure. It translates to 'hardly' or 'barely' and is mostly used in written or somewhat formal French.

Where would guère go if this sentence were in a past tense like the passé composé?

Just like pas, the word guère wraps around the conjugated verb. In a compound tense like the passé composé, the conjugated verb is the auxiliary verb. So 'I hardly remembered it' becomes Je ne m'en suis guère souvenu.

Doesn't coquille normally mean 'shell'? Why is it translated as 'misprint' here?

Yes, coquille usually means a shell (like a seashell or eggshell). However, in the context of writing, typing, and publishing, it is the standard French term for a typo or misprint. It's a very common piece of vocabulary for native speakers!

What exactly does the pronoun en replace in Je ne m'en souviens guère?

It replaces the phrase de cette coquille. The verb se souvenir (to remember) requires the preposition de. Whenever you replace a phrase starting with de (when it refers to a thing or idea rather than a person), you must use the pronoun en.