Breakdown of Tu as mal aux dents pour avoir raté ton rendez-vous, n'est-ce pas ?
tu
you (informal singular)
pour
for
avoir
to have
ton
your (ton, ta, tes)
aux
to the, at the (plural) / with (flavoured with, in dish names) / with (having as a feature)
le rendez-vous
the appointment
la dent
the tooth
avoir mal
to be in pain, to hurt
n'est-ce pas
isn't it? right?
rater
to miss / to botch / ruin / to fail / go wrong
Questions & Answers about Tu as mal aux dents pour avoir raté ton rendez-vous, n'est-ce pas ?
Why do we use pour avoir raté instead of just saying parce que tu as raté?
You could definitely use parce que (because), but this sentence uses pour + past infinitive to express the cause of a completed action. It translates smoothly to "for having missed." To form it, use pour followed by the infinitive of the auxiliary verb (avoir or être) and the past participle (raté). Note that this structure only works when the subject of both actions is the same person.
Why does it say aux dents instead of using a possessive like à tes dents?
In French, it is standard to use definite articles (le, la, les) with body parts instead of possessive adjectives (mon, ton, tes) when the owner is already obvious from the context. Because the sentence starts with Tu as, it's clear we are talking about your teeth. Aux is just the mandatory contraction of à + les.
Does the word rendez-vous always end in an "s", even when singular like in ton rendez-vous?
Could I use the verb manquer instead of rater for missing an appointment?
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