Embedded Files
Image: Marrakesh-medina, Morocco
Click here to find out about Marrakesh
La négation
Negation = the contradiction of some or all of the meaning of an affirmative (positive) sentence.
In English, a sentence is commonly negated by inserting a single negative word (not, don't, didn't, won't , etc.) into the appropriate place in the sentence. In French, a sentence is commonly negated by inserting two words: ne...pas, for example.
Basic negation
Ne ... pas is placed around the conjugated verb to negate a sentence in French.
Note: ne changes to n' before a verb beginning with a vowel.
Other negative expressions
*Ne ... que indicates a restriction: ne comes before the verb, and que comes before the thing that is limited. In English, we would say "only."
Placement
Simple verbs (verbs with only one part, like the present and the imparfait): negation goes around the verb.
Composed verbs (two verbs, for example the futur proche and the passé composé): negation goes around the first verb.
Special negations like ne...que place the que before what is limited.
Infinitives: The two parts of negation (ne pas) stay together and come before an infinitive.
Les pronoms indéfinis
Personne and rien are negative pronouns; they may function as the subject or direct object of a sentence, or as the object of a preposition. When personne is an object, it is placed after the verb or the preposition it complements:
Personne and rien may be used at the beginning of a sentence, as pronoun subjects, followed by ne / n':
Some of the negations listed above can be combined, as shown in these examples:
Rien (nothing), personne (no one), and jamais (never) may be used in one-word answers:
Page updated
Report abuse