FRENCH GRAMMAR
NEGATION / LA NEGATION
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English equivalents: not, never, none, neither, nor,no one, etc.
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French generally forms negatives by sandwiching theconjugated verb between a ne and one of severalother words (often pas), according to what one wantsto express:
| Construction | Examples | |
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ne...pas (not) |
Je n'aime pas ça! (I don't like that!) |
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ne...rien (nothing) |
Je ne regrette rien. (I regret nothing.) |
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ne...personne (nobody) |
Il ne donne des fleurs à personne. (He gives no one flowers.) |
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ne...jamais (never) |
Tu n'es jamais à I'heure! (You're never on time!) |
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ne...plus (no more, not any longer) |
Ellesn'y vont plus. (They don't go there any longer.) |
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ne...ni...ni (neither/nor with nouns, adjectives, and adverbs; verbs usene...ni...ne) |
Tu n'as ni argent ni esprit. (You've got neither money nor wit.) Je ne ris ni ne pleure. (I'm neither laughing nor crying.) |
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ne...aucun(e) (none, no one, not any) |
Je ne souris à aucun type. (I'm not smiling at any guy.) |
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ne...que (only) |
Nous ne voyons que des fleurs. (We only see flowers.) |
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ne...guère (scarcely)—literary |
Nous n'y allons guère. (We scarcely go there.) |
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Use nealone with cesser, oser, pouvoir, savoir. Je n'ose y penser.(I don't dare think of it.)
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Two of these elements can be combined:Jen'ai jamais rien fait.(I never did anything.)
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The non-neelement can be used without a verb: Fuir? Jamais!(Flee? Never!)
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Jamaiscan be used with a verb but without neto mean ever: Peux-tu jamais me pardonner?(Can you ever forgive me?).
NEGATION / LA NEGATION

