Mon frère ne porte jamais de cravate, même pour des occasions formelles.

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Breakdown of Mon frère ne porte jamais de cravate, même pour des occasions formelles.

• le frère: the brother
• pour: for
• des: some
• porter: to wear
• ne ... jamais: never
• même: even
• de: a
• la cravate: the tie
• l'occasion: the occasion
• formel: formal

Questions & Answers about Mon frère ne porte jamais de cravate, même pour des occasions formelles.

Why do we have ne and jamais around porte?

In French, ne...jamais is used to say never. You place ne before the verb and jamais after it. For example:

• Je ne fume jamais (I never smoke).
• Il ne regarde jamais la télévision (He never watches television).

Why do we say de cravate instead of une cravate or la cravate after the negation?

With a negative verb in French (using ne...pas, ne...jamais, etc.), the usual indefinite article (un / une / des) typically becomes de (or d’ before a vowel sound). You see this mostly in general statements or indefinite references. So, je ne porte jamais *de cravate* follows the standard rule for negation with indefinite articles.

What is the function of même in this sentence?

Here, même means even. It emphasizes that not wearing a tie extends to situations where one would normally expect it. So même pour des occasions formelles = even for formal occasions.

Why do we say des occasions formelles rather than les occasions formelles?

Using des indicates a non-specific group of formal occasions. If you used les, it would imply you’re talking about specific formal occasions known to the speaker and listener. In general, des is an indefinite article referring to some or various occasions, rather than particular ones.

How do you pronounce porte in this context?

Porte (from porter, meaning to wear) is pronounced like “port” with a little t sound at the end but without a release of air in the r—something like [pɔʁt] in IPA. The r in French is a throaty, guttural sound.