I had no idea ...

J. S.C1Kwiziq community member

I understand that aucun is more emphatic than pas de, but does "Je n'avait pas d'idée ..." not work for this sentence as well? Thank you.

Asked 2 years ago

Chris W.C1Kwiziq Q&A super contributorCorrect answer

I don't know the context but the two negations are different in their meaning:

Je n'avais pas d'idée -- I didn't have an idea.
Je n'avais aucune idée -- I had no idea.

Like02 years ago

CélineKwiziq Native French TeacherCorrect answer

Bonjour Jennifer,

Chris is correct!

Remember:

Je n'avais pas d'idée ! = I didn't have any ideas!

-> meaning "any original thoughts"

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Like12 years ago

J. S. asked:

I understand that aucun is more emphatic than pas de, but does "Je n'avait pas d'idée ..." not work for this sentence as well? Thank you.

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