Expletive "ne"

Ian L.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Expletive "ne"

For

J'ai eu peur que nous ________ trop tard

I answered "ne soyons arrivés" but this was marked wrong. "Soyons arrivés" was given as corrrect.

Am I missing something with the expletive "ne" (which I do find a bit confusing!)  Could you explain?

Thanks in advance,

Ian

Asked 6 years ago
Tom K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Hi Ian,

I can see nothing wrong with your answer. I would expect the "ne explétif" to be used in this context. The "ne explétif" is often omitted in casual speech but should be used in formal French (of which I assume this is an example).

tom

Ian L.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Thanks Tom - much appreciated.
Ian L. asked:

Expletive "ne"

For

J'ai eu peur que nous ________ trop tard

I answered "ne soyons arrivés" but this was marked wrong. "Soyons arrivés" was given as corrrect.

Am I missing something with the expletive "ne" (which I do find a bit confusing!)  Could you explain?

Thanks in advance,

Ian

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