Ta famille ne travaille pas en ville.

not

Breakdown of Ta famille ne travaille pas en ville.

• la famille: the family
• ta: your
• travailler: to work
• en: in
• la ville: the city

Questions & Answers about Ta famille ne travaille pas en ville.

Why is there ne … pas instead of just 'pas' to make the sentence negative?

French uses a two-part negation with ne before the verb and pas after it. Together, they form a standard way to say something is not happening or not true.

Why does travaille end with -e instead of -ent? Shouldn't "family" be considered plural?

In French, la famille is grammatically singular, so it uses the third-person singular form of the verb (il/elle/on form). Hence, we write travaille and not travaillent.

Could I say Ma famille ne travaille pas en ville instead of Ta famille ne travaille pas en ville?

Yes, that's simply changing the possessive from ta (your) to ma (my). Both are correct, as long as you're referring to the appropriate family.

What is the difference between en ville and à la ville?

En ville is a common phrase meaning "in town" or "in the city," focusing on the general idea of being in an urban area. À la ville can be used, but it's less common in everyday speech and usually emphasizes a specific city or urban environment.

Is there a reason we don't contract ne to n' here?

Contraction happens when ne is followed by a vowel or a silent h (for example, n'est pas, n'habite pas). Since travaille starts with a consonant sound, we don't need to contract ne.