Breakdown of N'avez-vous ni famille ni argent ?
vous
you (plural/formal)
avoir
to have
ne
not (used before the verb)
la famille
the family
l'argent
the money (m)
ni
nor
Questions & Answers about N'avez-vous ni famille ni argent ?
Why are there no articles before famille and argent?
Where is the pas in this negative sentence?
Could I keep the articles and say ni la famille ni l'argent?
Only if you were referring to specific things, like "neither the family nor the money we discussed". Definite articles (le, la, les) are kept after ni... ni.... However, since this sentence asks about having family or money in general, the underlying articles are indefinite and partitive, which must be dropped.
Is N'avez-vous the only way to phrase this question?
No, N'avez-vous uses subject-verb inversion, which sounds quite formal and is mostly used in writing. In everyday spoken French, you would likely just use a regular sentence structure with a rising voice: Vous n'avez ni famille ni argent ?
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