Passé antérieur and participle

Question

I'm having no luck translating the form, 'il eut heu'. I've run across it (or variations) three times now. It looks like a verb in the passé antérieur but none of the language reference tools I've checked recognise the participle 'heu'. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Aurélie Drouard · Answer

Bonjour Matilka !

"Heu" is definitely not an existing past participle in French. It only exists as an onomatopoeia, used as filler in a conversation (i.e. "hum"):
"Je vais...heu... faire... heu...des pâtes."

The only other form I can think of that looks similar is "Il eut eu" which is "avoir" = He'd had

I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !

Matilka Krow · Answer

Sorry, I should've sent the text:  "Une brève lutte de pouvoir eut heu, ..." also "il avait pu se rendre compte que l'amour...pouvait avoir heu."

Aurélie Drouard · Answer

Bonjour Matilka !

I don't think the word is "heu" but "lieu", as "avoir lieu" is a fixed expression in French meaning "to happen / to take place"   :)

Bonne journée !