How French works
Beginner Unit 18:

More on negatives

Key points

  • Other than ne ... pas, there are a range of other ways of forming the negative.

We have seen that negatives in French are formed by putting the word ne in front of the verb and the word pas after it:

J’aime le chocolat   →.   Je n’aime pas le chocolat

I like chocolate - I don’t like chocolate

There are a number of other negative expressions in French that follow the same pattern. These are:

Table 18: negative expressions
FrenchEnglish 
ne ... personne no-one
ne ... jamais never
ne ... riennothing
ne ... plusno longer
ne ... que only

Here are examples of these expressions being used in sentences .

Ne ... jamais:

Ils ne vont jamais au cinéma

They never go to the cinema

Ne ... personne:

Il n’y a personne à la maison

There’s no-one at home

Ne ... rien:

Je ne comprends rien

I don’t undertand anything

Ne ... plus:

Je ne prends plus le train

I no longer take the train

Ne ... que:

Elle ne boit que de l’eau minérale

She only drinks mineral water

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How French Works was written and coded by Chris Dawson.