Question 1

Why is there no pas after n'a?

Accepted Answer

In French, rien (nothing) is a negative word that completely replaces pas. You use ne before the verb and rien after it to mean nothing, but you cannot use both rien and pas in the same negative structure.

Question 2

Why use cet instead of ce or cette for automate?

Accepted Answer

Automate is a masculine noun, which can be tricky since it ends in 'e'. Because it is masculine and starts with a vowel, you must use cet instead of ce to make pronunciation flow nicely. If it were feminine, it would be cette.

Question 3

How does à l'intérieur relate to our current lesson on the prepositions à and de?

Accepted Answer

Your current lesson covers using à for physical characteristics and de for materials. Here, à l'intérieur is simply a fixed spatial phrase meaning inside. You would only use de in this context if you meant from the inside (de l'intérieur) or the inside of a specific object (l'intérieur de l'automate).

Question 4

Could I just say dans instead of à l'intérieur?

Accepted Answer

Not at the very end of a sentence like this. The preposition dans requires a specific object after it (for example, dans l'automate meaning in the automaton). When you just want to say inside as a standalone location, you must use the full phrase à l'intérieur.

Cet automate articulé n'a rien à l'intérieur.

Breakdown of Cet automate articulé n'a rien à l'intérieur.

Questions & Answers about Cet automate articulé n'a rien à l'intérieur.

Learn Cet automate articulé n'a rien à l'intérieur and more in French