Question 1

How do we form the past infinitive in pour avoir ignoré?

Accepted Answer

To show the cause of something using a completed action, we use pour + past infinitive. You form it using the infinitive of the auxiliary verb (avoir or être) plus the past participle of the main verb (ignoré). Because ignorer uses avoir in the passé composé, it takes avoir here too.

Question 2

Is une douleur dentaire the standard way to say 'a toothache'?

Accepted Answer

In everyday casual French, you will hear avoir mal aux dents much more often. Une douleur dentaire translates literally to 'a dental pain' and sounds slightly more clinical or formal, like the phrasing a dentist would use to describe the issue.

Question 3

Why is it beaucoup de tartre and not beaucoup du tartre?

Accepted Answer

A quick refresher on quantities: adverbs like beaucoup, un peu, or trop are almost always followed by a bare de (or d'). You only use du (which is de + le) if you mean 'a lot of the tartar' referring to a specific, previously mentioned amount, rather than just 'a lot of tartar' in general.

Question 4

Why is la gencive in the singular here? Don't we have multiple gums?

Accepted Answer

In French, it is common to use the singular la gencive to refer to a specific localized area of gum tissue experiencing a problem. However, using the plural les gencives to talk about your gums as a whole is also perfectly correct and very common.

Il a une douleur dentaire et beaucoup de tartre sur la gencive pour avoir ignoré le problème.

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