N'avez-vous ni famille ni argent ?

Questions & Answers about N'avez-vous ni famille ni argent ?

Why are there no articles before famille and argent?
This is the core rule of this lesson: when using the multiple negative ni... ni... (neither... nor...), you must drop indefinite articles (un, une, des) and partitive articles (du, de la, de l'). Since you would normally say une famille and de l'argent, both articles disappear completely here.
Where is the pas in this negative sentence?
Just like jamais (never) or rien (nothing), the structure ni... ni... replaces pas. You keep the n' before the verb, but adding pas alongside it would be grammatically incorrect.
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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