Personne n'aime ce petit travers.

Questions & Answers about Personne n'aime ce petit travers.

I'm used to seeing travers in the preposition à travers (across/through). How does it work as a noun here?
As a masculine noun, un travers refers to a behavioral flaw, a quirk, or a minor failing in someone's character. It stems from the historical idea of something being "crooked" or "askew."
Why isn't there a pas in this negative sentence?
The word personne acts as both the subject ("nobody") and the negative word here. Just like jamais or rien, it replaces pas. The grammatical structure for a negative subject is Personne ne (or Personne n' before a vowel). Adding pas would incorrectly create a double negative.
Could I place the adjective after the noun and say ce travers petit?
No, petit is one of the common, short, descriptive adjectives that must go before the noun in French. You might remember the acronym BANGS (Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, Size) from earlier lessons for these exceptions. Since petit relates to size, it is placed right before travers.

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