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Ensuite, l'orphelin n'avait ni chauffage ni couverture et a commencé à grelotter.

Ensuite, l'orphelin n'avait ni chauffage ni couverture et a commencé à grelotter.
Then, the orphan had neither heating nor blanket and started to shiver.
From Lesson 400:Zero article after multiple negation (ni... ni...)·French

Questions & Answers about Ensuite, l'orphelin n'avait ni chauffage ni couverture et a commencé à grelotter.

Why are there no articles before chauffage and couverture?
This is the rule for multiple negation with ni... ni... (neither... nor...). When using this structure, indefinite articles (un, une, des) and partitive articles (du, de la, de l') are completely dropped. Normally it would be du chauffage and une couverture, but here the articles vanish.
Where is the pas in this negative sentence?
The ni... ni... structure entirely replaces the word pas. You still need the first part of the negation, which is why we see n' before the verb avait, but adding pas would be a grammatical mistake here.
Why does the tense switch from the imperfect (avait) to the passé composé (a commencé)?
This is a classic mix of past tenses. The imperfect (avait) describes the ongoing background state or condition of the orphan. The passé composé (a commencé) marks a new, specific action that suddenly started within that context.
Why do we need the word à before grelotter?
In French, certain verbs require a specific preposition before an infinitive verb. The verb commencer is one of them. To say you start doing something, you must use the structure commencer à followed by the infinitive.

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