Do the French have a negative way of speaking? “Non – ce n’est pas possible !”, “Je n’ai aucune idée”, “J’y peux rien” are a few phrases you are not unlikely to hear in France. The most standard negative phrase in French may already deter some, as it has two parts, the ne and the pas. These are placed before and after verbs, e.g., “Je ne sais pas.”
We learned how to make a sentence negative in French. Since then, we’ve been practicing more complex sentences. In this module, we will learn additional ways to negate sentences that function identically to the “ne” and “pas” combination we’ve already learned. Take a look at the model sentence below. Then, review the chart with common negative expressions and compare how they are placed in the example sentences with the model sentence provided.
Model Negative Sentence: Je ne vais pas au bureau aujourd’hui.
I am not going to the office today.
| Negation | Meaning | Example and Translation |
| ne…jamais | never | Je ne vais jamais en France. I never go to France. |
| ne…plus | no longer / no more | Tu ne bois plus d’eau gazeuse. You no longer drink any sparkling water. |
| ne…personne | no one, nobody/anybody | Il ne voit personne pendant la nuit. He doesn’t see anybody at night. |
| ne…que | only | Nous ne cuisinons que pour notre famille. We only cook for our family. |
| ne…rien | nothing | Après le travail, vous ne faites rien. After work, you do nothing. |
| *ne…ni…ni… | neither…nor | Elles n’achètent ni jeux ni maquillage. They buy neither games nor makeup. |
*Notice how nearly all the new negation expressions follow the same pattern as the ne and pas. The “ne” comes before the conjugated verb in the sentence, and the second part of the negation comes after. In the last example (neither…nor), the “ne” comes before the verb and both “ni” parts precede a noun; indefinite and partitive articles (un, une, des, du, de la) are dropped after “ni,” while definite articles (le, la, les) are kept.
Negation in the Other Tenses:
So far in our modules, we’ve learned the present tense (le présent), the past tense (le passé composé), the near future (le futur proche), and the simple future (le futur simple). Negation in all of these tenses functions the same way as it does in the present as long as you conjugate the verbs appropriately for the tense you’re using. Below you will find an example negative sentence in each one of these tenses. Pay close attention to le passé composé (examples 2 and 3). Look at how the conjugated verbs of the sentence are the auxiliary verbs avoir and être. This is why you will see the negation sandwiching those conjugations.
Example 1: Le Présent
Je n’aime plus la glace au chocolat.
I no longer like chocolate ice cream.
Example 2: Le Passé Composé avec Avoir Example 3: Le Passé Composé avec Être
Il n’a jamais vu ce film. Nous ne sommes sortis que le week-end.
He has never seen this movie. We only went out on the weekends.
*Example 4: Le Futur Proche
Vous n’allez pas partir sans moi!
You are not going to leave without me!
Example 5: Le Futur Simple
Ils ne feront rien ce soir.
They will do nothing tonight.
*Notice how in Example 4, there are two verbs in the sentence – allez and partir. When there are two verbs, the negation often sandwiches the first one, as it is the conjugated verb. You will have a question like this in the exercise provided in the module.
Other Useful Negative Words and Expressions:
- ça ne fait rien (it doesn’t matter)
- de rien (you’re welcome)
- jamais de la vie! (never! out of the question! not on your life!)
- pas du tout (not at all)
- pas encore (not yet)
- pas maintenant (not now)
- rien (nothing)
- personne (no one)
The most standard negative phrase in French may already deter some, as it has two parts, the ne and the pas. These are placed before and after verbs, e.g., “Je ne sais pas.” This wouldn’t be that big of a deal, except that negations involving compound tenses and infinitives get a bit more complex, especially when object pronouns are thrown into the mix.
In addition to the ne… pas negation, French has others that are used in a more emphatic or restrictive way, or to negate a series of items. They function more or less in the same way as ne… pas, with adverbs of negation following the ne… pas pattern and some negations involving indefinite pronouns or adjectives shifting to take the place of subjects or objects within a phrase.