Negation (ne...pas, ne...jamais, ne...rien, ne...plus)

You have already encountered the basic negation pattern ne...pas (not) in earlier lessons. This lesson goes deeper into French negation, covering all the major negative constructions and the rules that govern their use.

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The Structure of French Negation

French negation is a two-part structure that wraps around the conjugated verb:

Subject + ne + conjugated verb + negative word + rest of sentence

The most common negative word is pas (not), but there are several others, each with a distinct meaning.

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Ne...Pas — Not

The most basic and common negation.

Affirmative	Negative
Je parle français.	Je ne parle pas français.
Elle mange.	Elle ne mange pas.
Nous avons un chien.	*Nous **n'*avons pas de chien.
Il est content.	*Il **n'*est pas content.

Rules:

1. Ne becomes n' before a vowel or silent h.
2. In spoken French, ne is very often dropped: Je parle pas, C'est pas vrai. This is standard in casual speech.

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Ne...Jamais — Never

Affirmative	Negative
Je mange toujours du poisson. (I always eat fish.)	Je ne mange jamais de poisson. (I never eat fish.)
Elle est toujours en retard. (She's always late.)	*Elle **n'*est jamais en retard. (She's never late.)
Tu travailles le dimanche.	Tu ne travailles jamais le dimanche. (You never work on Sundays.)

Jamais can also mean "ever" in questions: Est-ce que tu as jamais visité Paris ? (Have you ever visited Paris?)

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Ne...Rien — Nothing / Not Anything

Affirmative	Negative
Je vois quelque chose. (I see something.)	Je ne vois rien. (I don't see anything. / I see nothing.)
Tu manges quelque chose ? (Are you eating something?)	Tu ne manges rien ? (You're not eating anything?)
Il comprend tout. (He understands everything.)	Il ne comprend rien. (He understands nothing.)

Rien can also be the subject of a sentence:

• Rien ne marche. — Nothing works.
• Rien n'est impossible. — Nothing is impossible.

When rien is the subject, ne comes after rien and before the verb.

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Ne...Plus — No Longer / Not Anymore

Affirmative	Negative
Je travaille encore ici. (I still work here.)	Je ne travaille plus ici. (I no longer work here.)
Il habite à Paris. (He lives in Paris.)	*Il **n'*habite plus à Paris. (He doesn't live in Paris anymore.)
Tu fumes ? (Do you smoke?)	Je ne fume plus. (I don't smoke anymore.)

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Ne...Personne — Nobody / Not Anyone

Affirmative	Negative
Je connais quelqu'un ici. (I know someone here.)	Je ne connais personne ici. (I don't know anyone here.)
Tu vois quelqu'un ? (Do you see someone?)	Tu ne vois personne ? (You don't see anyone?)

Personne can also be the subject:

• Personne ne parle. — Nobody speaks.
• Personne n'est venu. — Nobody came.

Note on placement: Personne always goes after the past participle in compound tenses (unlike rien which goes before): Je n'ai vu personne. (I didn't see anyone.)

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Ne...Que — Only

Ne...que is a restrictive expression meaning "only." It is not truly negative, but it uses the ne... structure.