N'eût (en. Had not)

/nø/

Meaning & Definition

EnglishFrench

verb

Negation in a sentence expressing the absence of possession.

He said he would not have a book.

Il a dit qu'il n'eût pas de livre.

Used in a conditional or hypothetical context.

If he had not forgotten his gift, he would have been happy.

S'il n'eût pas oublié son cadeau, il aurait été content.

Used to express a past event that did not happen.

I thought it would not have an impact.

Je pensais qu'il n'eût pas d'impact.

From the Latin 'habu-it', meaning 'have' in the third person singular.

He would not have believed.

He would not have believed it.

Il n'eût pas cru

I did not know that he had no time.

Je ne savais pas qu'il n'eût pas de temps

to not have

Not to have, the negative form of 'to have'.

n'avoir

had

Past participle of the verb 'to have'.

Expression of despair for something one never had.

It's like saying he never had love.

C'est comme dire qu'il n'eût jamais d'amour.

Feeling of regret for a missed opportunity.

He feels that if he had not had that chance, he would have lost everything.

Il ressent que s'il n'eût pas eu cette chance, il aurait tout perdu.