grammar check

Question

Salut!Is this sentence grammatically right? - Ils n`ont pas des maisons mais une maison

Céline Pickard · Accepted Answer

Bonjour Baghustar,
Yes, that's correct. This is a specific case where "des" stays as it represents a quantity and you are contrasting/comparing. Be caferul with the accent ;-)

Ils n'ont pas des maisons, mais une maison. = They don't have (several) houses, but one house.
Je ne veux pas des saucisses, mais une saucisse. = I don't want (several) sausages, but one sausage.
Olivier n'a pas mangé des sandwichs, mais un sandwich. = Olivier didn't eat (several) sandwiches, but one sandwich.

I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !