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Ne [verb] pas

N' [verb beginning with a vowel] pas

Why would habite have a n' in front of it (n'habite pas), not Ne habite pas? H is not a vowel (right)? Just asking because I got it wrong on a test when I put Ne habite pas.

7 answers

Is it because habite is pronounced with out the h?
The French don't sound the h, so it's treated as a voiceless vowel at the beginning of a word.
Ohh, ok thanks Ms. Sue.
You're welcome, Peeps.
There are actually two "h's" in French. In th e dictionary, when you see an asterisk (*) it means that that is a "voiced/sounded" h. Ordinarily, the "h" is unvoiced/unsounded, as Ms. Sue explained. Then the first sound you hear is the "vowel" after it; in this case it the "a" which is why it is je n'habite pas BUT hacher* = to grind = je ne hache pas.

Sra (aka Mme)
Ok thanks for helping me understand about the letter h in French SraJMcGin :). I wonder why my French teacher didn't mention this before.
It could depend upon your level of French, but that was an excellent question, showing you notice things!

Sra (aka Mme)