Share|

French Negative Expressions

By , on October 12, 2010, at 12:18 am | 13 comments | 6,200 views

Bonjour les amis!

J’espère que votre journée se passe bien. Today’s lesson is about NEGATIVE EXPRESSIONS in French. In our daily conversations, we find ourselves forming negative sentences all the time. In French, forming the negation isn’t so complicated, and this lesson will show how to do just that.

THE EXPRESSION NE…PAS

Most of you are already familiar with the expression ne…pas to negate sentences. It is by far the most common expression used to negate sentences in the French language. EXAMPLES:

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE

ne…pas (don’t/won’t/shouldn’t/can’t, etc.)
Nous regardons la télé. (We are watching TV.) Nous ne regardons pas la télé. (We are not watching TV)
Émile ira à l’école ce matin. ( Emile will go to school this morning). Émile n’ira pas à l’école ce matin. (Emile will not go to school this morning)

RULE: As you see from these examples, to turn a sentence into a negative one, you usually place NE…PAS on each side of the verb.

FORMULA: SUBJECT + NE + VERB + PAS + (rest of the sentence)

  1. WARNING: NE becomes N’ (n apostrophe) when the verb that follows begins with a vowel or a silent h. Ex.: Sarah n’aime pas le chocolat. (Sarah does not like chocolate).
  2. WARNING: In the passé composé tense, the foruula I just proposed above will work a little differently. The past participle of the verb goes AFTER pas. EXAMPLE:

AFFIRMATIVE: Joel a mangé du pain. (Joel has eaten /ate some bread)

NEGATIVE: Joel n’a pas mangé de pain. (Joel hasn’t eaten / didn’t eat any bread )

OTHER NEGATIVE EXPRESSIONS IN FRENCH

THE EXPRESSION NE…RIEN

Rien means “nothing” in French and you can also use it to form a negative sentence. It’s quite easy. The principle is the same: ne…rien will be placed on each side of the verb, just like with ne…pas.

AFFIRMATIVE

Quelque chose (something)

 NEGATIVE

ne…rien (nothing)
Je vois quelque chose dans le ciel. (I see something in the sky.) Je ne vois rien dans le ciel. (I see nothing in the sky)
Léon dira quelque chose à maman. ( Leo will say something to mommy.) Leon ne dira rien à maman. (Leon will say nothing to mommy.)

IMPORTANT: Note that “Rien” can also be the subject of a sentence to form the negation (just like in English). In this case, ONLY ne (or n’)will be placed before the verb. Look at this example:

AFFIRMATIVE

tout (everything)

 NEGATIVE

rien…ne (nothing)
Tout est important pour lui. (Everything is important for him) Rien n’est important pour lui. (Nothing is important for him)
Tout semble clair. (Everything seems clear) Rien ne semble clair. (Nothing seems clear)

THE EXPRESSION NE…PERSONNE

Personne means “nobody” when used in a negative sentence in French.  Just like  ne…pas, ne…personne can be placed on each side of the verb to turn the sentence into a negative expression.

AFFIRMATIVE

quelqu’un (somebody)

 NEGATIVE

ne…personne (nobody)
Elle aime quelqu’un. (She loves somebody.) Elle n’aime personne. (She loves nobody)
Il a aidé quelqu’un. (He helped somebody.) Il n’a aidé personne. (He helped nobody.)

IMPORTANT: Note that “Personne” can also be the subject of a sentence to form the negation (just like in English). In this case, ONLY ne (or n’) will be placed before the verb. Look at this example:

AFFIRMATIVE

tout le monde (everybody)

 NEGATIVE

personne…ne (nobody)
Tout le monde est venu à la fête. (Everybody came to the party) Personne n’est venu à la fête. (Nobody came to the party)
Tout le monde a discuté de politique. (Everybody talked politics) Personne n’a discuté de politique. (Nobody talked politics)

THE EXPRESSION NE…JAMAIS

Jamais means “never” when used in a negative sentence in French. Just like ne…pas, ne…jamais is usually placed on each side of the verb to turn the sentence into a negative expression.

AFFIRMATIVE

quelquefois (sometimes) / toujours (always)

 NEGATIVE

ne…jamais (never)
Je vais au cinéma quelquefois. (I go to the cinema sometimes.) Je ne vais jamais au cinéma. (I never go to the movie theater)
Elle dit toujours merci. (She always says thank you.) Elle ne dit jamais merci. (She never says thank you)

THE EXPRESSION NE…PAS ENCORE

Pas encore means “not yet” when used in a negative sentence in French. Just like ne…pas, ne…pas encore is usually placed on each side of the verb to turn the sentence into a negative expression.

AFFIRMATIVE

déjà (already)

 NEGATIVE

ne…pas encore (not yet)
Il a déjà fini ses devoirs. (He has already finished his homework.) Il n’a pas encore fini ses devoirs. (He hasn’t yet finished his homework)
As-tu déjà passé tes oraux? (Have you already taken your oral exams?) Je n’ai pas encore passé mes oraux. (I haven’t yet taken my my orals.)

THE EXPRESSION NE…PLUS

ne…plus means “no longer“. Just like ne…pas, ne…plus is usually placed on each side of the verb to turn the sentence into a negative expression.

AFFIRMATIVE

encore (still) / toujours (still)

 NEGATIVE

ne…plus (no longer)
Y a-t-il encore des élèves dans la salle? (Are there still pupils in the room?) Il n’y a plus d’élèves dans la salle. (There are no longer students in the room.)
Pleut-il toujours? (Is it still raining?) Il ne pleut plus. (It’s no longer raining.)
October 12th, 2010 | Category: | 13 comments | 6,200 views

13 comments to French Negative Expressions

You must be logged in to post a comment.