atrytone4athena

[errant mauve]

Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

Pro tip: you can rename the thread title with `.tr <thread name>`

Make it descriptive, including relevant context, but also to the point. This way you improve your chances of getting a more relevant and specific answer.

[golden cloak]

The indefinite article "un" becomes "de" in negative sentences.

• J'ai un frère ==> I have a brother
• Je n'ai pas de frère ==> I don't have a brother

"Je n'ai pas un frère" is also grammatically correct, but it means "I don't have one brother". Which implies you're going to specify the actual number of brothers you have.

• Je n'ai pas un frère, j'en ai deux ==> I don't have one brother, I have two

[dense reef]

Thanks a lottt🥰🥰🥰 and why didnt you just say j'ai deux but used "j'en...".

Is it because you are referring to the brother you mentioned in first sentence?

[tired vector]

« j'ai deux » doesn't work on it's own in French
a French person reading or hearing that would think, "two of what?"
English allows us to leave out an implied object there, but in French it's obligatory
The pronoun that we use to indicate that implied object is "en"

J'en ai deux → I have two of them

[noble sorrel]

The negation "de" is kinda like "any"
"I don't have any brother[s]"

[tired vector]

also, sidenote, chatgpt is not terribly reliable for language learning
it just gives results based on a predictive language model and will absolutely spout bullshit
so make sure you check other sources for anything that it tells you (which you're doing here, obviously, so good!)