ne..pas
- Simple negation is done by wrapping ne…pas around the verb.
- Je ne vole pas. – I do not steal.
- In a perfect tense, ne…pas wraps around the auxillary verb, not the participle.
- Je n’ai pas volé. – I haven’t stolen.
- When an infinitive and conjugated verb are together, ne…pas usually wraps around the conjugated verb.
- Je ne veux pas voler. – I do not want to steal.
- ne pas can also go directly in front of the infinitive for a different meaning.
- Je veux ne pas voler. – I want not to steal.
- ne goes before any pronoun relating to the verb it affects.
- Je ne l’ai pas volé. – I did not steal it.
- Nous ne nous aimons pas. – We do not love each other.
Other negative expressions
ne…aucun(e) | not any, none, no |
ne…jamais | never |
ne…ni…ni | neither…nor |
ne…pas du tout | not at all |
ne…pas encore | not yet |
ne…personne | nobody |
ne…plus | no longer |
ne…guère | hardly |
ne…que | only |
ne…rien | nothing |
- ne…personne wraps around the entire verb set.
- Je ne l’ai donné à personne. – I did not give it to anyone.
- Je ne veux le donner à personne. – I do not want to give it to anybody.
- ne…ni…ni requires two objects, either direct or indirect, and comes before them.
- Je ne l’ai donné ni à mon frère, ni à ma sœur. – I gave it neither to my brother nor my sister.
- Je ne peux voir ni mon frère ni ma sœur. – I am able to see neither my brother nor my sister.
- In ne…aucun(e), aucun(e) goes before an object.
- Il n’a aucun ami. Aucun. – He has no friend. None.
- Il n’a aucune feuille de papier. Aucune. – He has no sheet of paper. None.
- Il n’a qu’une feuille de papier. – He has only one piece of paper.
- Je ne peux guère voir mon frère et ma sœur – I can hardly see my brother and sister.
Spoken French
Now, the ‘ne’ sometimes disappears when one speaks. However, it is always used in written French and for formal conversations.
- Je ne l’ai donné à personne (I didn’t give it to anyone)
- Je ne sais pas (I don’t know)
Summary
To say not, never or other negative verbs you have to ‘sandwich’ the negative words around a verb.
Example:
- Il n’y a pas de cinéma. (meaning: “There is not a cinema”)
- On ne peut jamais aller en boite. (meaning: “You can never go partying”)
- Il n’ y a rien à faire ici. (meaning: “There is nothing to do here”)
If ” ne ” is before a vowel then it changes to ” n’ “.