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. For example: Tu ne vas prendre aucun médicament. ne … rien (nothing, not anything) Example: Il n ’y a rien de plus beau. Here’s the formula: Subject + ne + conjugated form of être or avoir + past participle + personne/nulle part/ni/aucun. In that case, start the sentence with either one of those words and proceed regularly with ne in front of the conjugated verb. Vous ne venez pas demain. Rien (nothing, not anything) Personne (nobody, no one) 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. 20.00 €/h. Have a question? 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… Je ne danse pas. When the verb is inverted, pas follows the subject pronoun.. 2. (We saw no one.) Schedule a lesson. The conjugated verb comes between the two parts: ne + verb + pas. I do not dance ! For example: Ne fais pas ça! This is referred to some French teachers as a ne pas sandwich. Pas can be replaced by other negative words, such as jamais (never), personne (no one), and rien (nothing). For example: Rien n’est important (Nothing is important) and Personne ne fait la vaisselle (Nobody does the dishes). (Don’t do that! (I never see him. Here’s the formula: Rien or Personne + ne + verb. 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! I don’t eat tonight. Our lesson here will help you to understand this. Je ne marche pas – I don’t walk (I’m not walking) Il ne parle pas français – He doesn’t speak French; Nous ne voulons pas aller en Espagne – We do not want to go to Spain Rien (nothing) and personne (nobody) can sometimes be the subject of the verb, like in English. 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. With Lingolia Plus you can access 6 additional exercises about Negation, as well as 588 online exercises to improve your French. For example: Je n’ai aucune idée! Schedule a lesson. Most negative sentences in French are formed with the ne … pas construction. French negative sentence at the future tense. As an adjective, aucun agrees with the noun it is modifying (aucun, aucune, aucuns, aucunes). Our online exercises for French help you to learn and practice grammar rules in an interactive manner. (Don't smoke!) To make a sentence negative in French you have to use two negative terms. Other ways to make negative sentences in French, word order depends on pronouns (see the diagram on the, La phrase négative simple – structure (1), La phrase négative simple – structure (2), La phrase négative simple – structure – pronoms (1), La phrase négative simple – structure – pronoms (2), La phrase négative simple – constructions négatives (1), La phrase négative simple – constructions négatives (2). For example: Vous n’allez rien faire ce weekend. I don’t see anyone in the street. Take online language lessons with a professional teacher. For example: Ils n’ont pas de chien. in addition to ne … pas, there are other negative forms in French. Je ne mange pas. Read on for everything you need to know about negation in French grammar, then test out your new knowledge in the free exercises. Other ways to make negative sentences in French. Véronique Mazet has a doctorate in French from the University of Texas at Austin and is the author of two successful grammar books. Il ne dort pas. French Negative Sentences Examples. There are two main differences between French and English negative adverbs: 1. (He plays with no one.). They generally also have two parts: When any is used in the negative sense (not any, no), it’s translated into French as either aucun or pas de (de = partitive article). ), In a negative command, ne and pas surround the verb, regardless of the absence of subject in the sentence. Group lessons! A sentence is negative when it denies something. (You’re not going to take any medication.) To make sure that you understand the correct answers, our answer keys offer simple explanations as well as handy tips and tricks. in addition to ne … pas, there are other negative forms in French. For example, Il n’a pas voyagé. ), 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. Je ne mange pas ce soir. Don’t let the children get used to sugar! She currently teaches French at Austin Community College in Austin, Texas. The most common negative construction in French is ne + verb + pas, although there are also other phrases we can use. For example: Je ne le vois jamais. 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. Unfortunately, Pierre doesn’t have a single friend. In English negation, the helping verb "do" must be added to most verbs ().This is not the case in French: if there’s … Laima C. 24.00 €/h. (I have absolutely no idea! They generally also have two parts: ne … personne (no one, not anyone) Example: Je ne vois personne dans la rue. Aucun makes the negation stronger. How to Conjugate Irregular –ir French Verbs, How to Form a Question in French Using Inversion. For example: Ne fume pas! 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. The first one is "ne" (or "n' " if the word begins with a vowel) and the second one can be the most common "pas" or an other like "plus", "rien", "jamais", "personne". French negative sentence at the present tense. In the futur proche, the negative words personne, nulle part, ni, and aucun go after the infinitive, not before. Here’s the formula: Subject + ne + aller +infinitive + personne/nulle part/ni/aucun. For example: Nous n’avons vu personne. The same goes for sentences using the future tense. Free trial lesson! For example: Il ne joue avec personne. Pas can be replaced by other negative words, such as jamais ( never ), personne ( no one ), and rien ( nothing ). For example: N'attends pas trop longtemps avant de réserver tes billets. (You don’t play. Give advice or recommend that someone not doing something. The French adverb has two parts: ne, which precedes the verb, and pas (or another word or phrase, see below), which follows it. Nous ne travaillons pas. I don’t eat. Here’s the formula: Subject + ne + conjugated form of être or avoir + pas + past participle. This is known as elision. (You aren’t going to do anything this weekend.). Group lessons! ), In a sentence with an object pronoun, like it, him, or her, the placement of ne changes like this: subject + ne + pronoun + verb + pas. You don’t come tomorrow. French is such a wonderful language, you have many different ways to say No. The most basic way to make a sentence negative in French is to place ne before the verb and pas after it. Let’s start with the most basic way to form a negative sentence. Unfortunately, Pierre doesn’t have any friends. Free trial lesson! When you create a negative sentence at the present tense, you can easily use the ne + verb + pas formula. Native & verified teachers; Free trial lesson; Learning materials included; Eleonora B. Get 3 months membership for just €10.49 (≈ $12.48). Le Petit Grevisse – A French Grammar Book. Become a Lingolia Plus member to access these additional exercises. ), If a conjugated verb begins with a vowel, ne becomes n’. But if you put the “ne” “pas” anywhere in the sentence, it won’t make much sense. Add “ne” before the verb and “pas” after it. (They don’t have a dog. (He didn’t travel.) What is a negative phrase in French ? If the objects are replaced by object pronouns, the same rule applies as with declarative sentences: Before vowels (a, e, i, o, u) or a silent h, ne becomes n’. Ne stays in the same place. He doesn’t sleep. We don’t …