Breakdown of Nous ne préparons aucunement une acquisition hostile.
un
a / an (masculine)
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
ne
not (used before the verb)
préparer
to prepare
aucunement
in no way
hostile
hostile
l'acquisition
the acquisition (f)
Questions & Answers about Nous ne préparons aucunement une acquisition hostile.
How does ne... aucunement differ from a standard ne... pas?
Where exactly does aucunement go in a sentence?
Because aucunement is an adverb, it takes the exact same spot that pas would. Here, it goes directly after the conjugated verb préparons. If this were in a compound tense like the passé composé, it would go between the helping verb and the past participle (for example, Nous n'avons aucunement préparé).
Shouldn't une change to d' after a negative verb? Why isn't it aucunement d'acquisition?
You learned earlier that indefinite articles (un, une, des) usually change to de or d' in negative sentences. However, you can keep un or une when there is an implied contrast. By saying une acquisition hostile, the speaker stresses that they aren't preparing that specific thing, but perhaps something else (like a friendly merger).
Could I use nullement instead of aucunement here?
Absolutely. Ne... aucunement and ne... nullement mean exactly the same thing and are entirely interchangeable. Both are formal, emphatic ways to say "by no means" or "not at all".
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