N’avais (en. Hadn't)

/n‿avɛ/

Meaning & Definition

EnglishFrench

verb

To indicate an absence of possession or existence

I did not have money to buy this book.

Je n’avais pas d’argent pour acheter ce livre.

To express a condition that did not occur in the past

If I had not delayed, I would have succeeded.

Si je n’avais pas retardé, j’aurais réussi.

Used in verb constructions to express the past

At that time, I had never traveled abroad.

À cette époque, je n’avais jamais voyagé à l'étranger.

Contracted form of 'je n'avais', from the verb avoir, derived from Latin 'habere'.

had no more

Means that there is no longer something, an absence.

n'avais plus

had

Third person singular of the imperfect tense of the verb avoir.

avait

we don't have

Negative form of the verb avoir in the first person plural.

n'avons

he/she/it didn't have

Negative form of the verb avoir in the third person singular.

n'avait

To express resignation or an unavoidable fact

I had no more hope after so many failures.

Je n’avais plus d'espoir après tant d'échecs.