On dit, je crois, "vous ne m'avez pas compris: (you did not understand me).
But, if I want to say "Didn't you understand me", is it:
"ne m'avez-vous pas compris?"
Merci!!
Exactement, mon ami!
Sra (aka Mme)
Merci beaucoup!!!
Yes, you are correct! To say "Didn't you understand me?" in French, you would say "Ne m'avez-vous pas compris?" Here's how we arrived at this sentence structure:
In French, when we ask a question, we typically invert the subject pronoun and the verb. So, instead of saying "Vous ne m'avez pas compris?" (You did not understand me), we need to invert "vous" (you) and "avez" (did you), resulting in "Ne m'avez-vous pas compris?".
Here's a breakdown of the sentence structure:
- "Ne" is the negation word in French, which means "not".
- "M'avez-vous" is the inverted form of "vous m'avez" (you understood me). This is the subject pronoun "vous" followed by the verb "avoir" (to have) conjugated in the second person plural form, followed by the direct object pronoun "me" (me) to represent "me" in "you understood me".
- "Pas" is another negation word in French, which strengthens the negative sense of the sentence.
- "Compris" is the past participle of the verb "comprendre" (to understand).
So, "Ne m'avez-vous pas compris?" translates to "Didn't you understand me?" in English.
I hope this explanation helps! Let me know if you have any more questions.