Pas can be replaced by other negative words, such as jamais (never), personne (no one), and rien (nothing). (Don’t do that! (We saw no one.) Rien (nothing) and personne (nobody) can sometimes be the subject of the verb, like in English. In French, you need two negative words, ne (no) and pas (not), to make a sentence negative. Forming the negative may or may not include the word non (no). For example: Il ne joue avec personne. (I have absolutely no idea! For example: Ils n’ont pas de chien. French negative sentence at the present tense When you create a negative sentence at the present tense, you can easily use the ne + verb + pas formula. (You’re not going to take any medication.) French negation can be a bit of a challenge. This summary of the different kinds of negation and negation-related grammatical structures should help clear up some of the confusion. For example: Tu ne vas prendre aucun médicament. How to Conjugate Irregular –ir French Verbs, How to Form a Question in French Using Inversion. In that case, start the sentence with either one of those words and proceed regularly with ne in front of the conjugated verb. The basic way to form a negative sentence in French is as follows: We'll see various complications later, but here are some examples with For example: Je n’ai aucune idée! On the next page, we look at how to say I didn't..., she hasn't ...-ed etc, ), In a sentence with an object pronoun, like it, him, or her, the placement of ne changes like this: subject + ne + pronoun + verb + pas. Saying don't..., doesn't... in the present tense (I never see him. We'll use the following The most basic way to make a sentence negative in French is to place ne before the verb and pas after it. Je ne mange pas ce soir. Here’s the formula: Subject + ne + aller +infinitive + personne/nulle part/ni/aucun. That is, the equivalent of sentences in present tense of -er verbs Here’s the formula: Rien or Personne + ne + verb. For example: Nous n’avons vu personne. first. This is referred to some French teachers as a ne pas sandwich. In the futur proche, the negative words personne, nulle part, ni, and aucun go after the infinitive, not before. Les phrases négatives A negative sentence (une phrase négative) allows us to negate a statement, express disagreement, make contradictions or deny the occurrence of an event or action. (He didn’t travel.) I didn't... etc. Here’s the formula: Subject + ne + conjugated form of être or avoir + past participle + personne/nulle part/ni/aucun. This allows us to say in French that something "didn't happen in the past". The title of each negation category links to a detailed lesson with examples of usage and a quiz. Ne stays in the same place. When the verb is inverted, pas follows the subject pronoun. French-English dictionary Véronique Mazet has a doctorate in French from the University of Texas at Austin and is the author of two successful grammar books. other types of negative sentences: French grammar index using the negative of the perfect tense. For verbs in the passé composé (present perfect), keep in mind that the conjugated verb is the auxiliary être (to be) or avoir (to have), not the past participle! For example: Ne fais pas ça! She currently teaches French at Austin Community College in Austin, Texas. a "total negation" is being expressed. For example: Rien n’est important (Nothing is important) and Personne ne fait la vaisselle (Nobody does the dishes). ), If a conjugated verb begins with a vowel, ne becomes n’. All of the verbs used are In English negation, the helping verb "do" must be added to most verbs . (They don’t have a dog. The most common negative construction in French is ne + verb + pas, … Fortunately for us French learners forming a negative sentence is actually pretty easy.At its most basic level you just have to add the word “ne” before your verb and “pas” after your verb. put ne...pas round the verb as indicated, plus make sure If you prefer, you may want to revise the In the passé composé, the second negative words personne (no one), nulle part (nowhere), ni (neither/nor), and aucun (none) + noun go after the past participle, not before. 2. There are other similar constructions to ne...pas used to form Here’s the formula: Subject + ne + conjugated form of être or avoir + pas + past participle. (You aren’t going to do anything this weekend.). For verbs in the futur proche (near future), keep in mind that the conjugated verb is aller (to go), so you place the two negative words around it, like you do with a regular negative. (He plays with no one.). This is not the case in French: if … Here’s what else you need to know in order to make a French sentence negative: Here’s what else you need to know in order to make a French sentence negative: The two negative words are placed around (before and after) the conjugated verb, like this: Tu ne joues pas. the present tense: If the verb begins with a vowel, then ne shortens to n': You can practise some simple negative sentences below. In French, you need two negative words, ne (no) and pas (not), to make a sentence negative. ), Use aucun/aucune (absolutely no/none whatsoever) as the second negative word in a sentence to insist on the zero quantity. I don’t eat tonight. Like English, double negatives are not used in French; however, in French, a negative is generally made up of two parts, which must be placed properly. That is, the equivalent of sentences in English with n't: I won't..., I don't..., I didn't... etc. English with n't: I won't..., I don't..., On this page, we'll look at how to form negative sentences in French where If you’re new to French and looking for information on how to form negative sentences you’ve come to the right place. Making sentences negative in French is a bit more complicated than in English. ), If a verb is followed by a preposition, as in jouer avec (to play with), the placement of pas/second negative changes like this: subject + ne + verb + preposition + pas/second negative. For example: Vous n’allez rien faire ce weekend. English-French dictionary, Suggest a change / proposez une modification. Negative sentences in French On this page, we'll look at how to form negative sentences in French where a "total negation" is being expressed. There are two main differences between French and English negative adverbs: 1. For example, Il n’a pas voyagé. The French adverb has two parts: ne, which precedes the verb, and pas (or another word or phrase, see below), which follows it. regular. Common Negative Words and Phrases Negatives express not, never, neither… nor, no longer, no more, no one, nobody, only, and nothing. Pas can be replaced by other negative words, such as jamais (never), personne (no one), and rien (nothing). ), In a negative command, ne and pas surround the verb, regardless of the absence of subject in the sentence. verbs and expressions: To form the negative sentences using these expressions, you need to Je ne mange pas. (You don’t play. For example: Je ne le vois jamais. you get the correct form depending on the person.