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