Negative phrases

ne+être/avoir +pas+ past participle
il n’a pas pris	he did not take
Exceptions are with personne and nulle part: ne+être/avoir+past participle+personne ne+être/avoir+past participle+nulle part
je n’ai entendu personne	I heard nobody
ils ne vont nulle part	they aren’t going anywhere (lit.: they go nowhere)

When the negative phrase is a subject, the negative word +ne precede the verb. This is often the case with rien and personne. (eg: Rien ne m’intéresse; personne ne me comprend.)

The indefinite article (un,une,des) generally becomes de in a negative phrase. (eg: Il y a un stylo dans mon sac.=>Il n’y a pas de stylo dans mon sac.) Be aware: This is not the case with the verb être: C’est un stylo.=>Ce n’est pas un stylo.

Be aware: Ne…plus in French translates into ‘no longer’ in English and is the negation of encore.(eg: Je vis encore chez mes parents. => Je ne vis plus chez mes parents.)

Be aware: Ne…pas encore in French translates into not yet in English and is the negation of déjà. (eg: Je suis déjà allé en Afrique. =>Je ne suis pas encore allé en Afrique.)

Aucun/aucune means ‘not one’ and is the negation of quelques or tous. It can be an adjective or a pronoun. Like personne and nulle part, in a compound tense, it is placed after the past participle. (eg: Je n’ ai compris aucune question.) Like personne and rien, it can be a subject in which case it is followed by ne and precedes the verb which is always in the singular. (eg: Aucune question n’est facile.)

Ne…ni…ni in French translates into ‘neither…nor’ in English. It is the negation of et…et…. When it is a subject it becomes ni…ni…ne….

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tolearnfrench

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Lingolia – easy

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Quia – mult choice

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Easy Quiz

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