| Two-part Construction | | | | such as have avoir (have) and être (be). |
| French has a two-part negation for verbs, | | | | It is the auxiliary verb which is marked for tense, |
| consisting of the 'ne' particle (a global negation), | | | | and so it is the auxiliary verb which becomes |
| and one of several other words clarifying the | | | | sandwiched between the first part of the |
| type of negation: | | | | construction, ne, and the second (qualifying) part |
| * ne ... pas = "not" | | | | of the negation: |
| * ne ... rien = "nothing" | | | | * " Je n'ai pas dormi chez moi. " = " I didn't sleep |
| * ne ... jamais = "never" | | | | at home." |
| * ne ... jamais rien = "never anything" | | | | There is an exception, however, when personne |
| * ne ... personne = "nobody" | | | | (no one) and nulle part (anywhere) are used with |
| * ne ... aucun(e) = "not any" | | | | compound tenses, with these secondary negation |
| * ne ... plus = "not any more, no longer or no | | | | particles following the whole compound verb (and |
| more" | | | | thus following the same negation construction as |
| * ne ... guère = "not much, not any" (archaic) | | | | that of simple verbs): |
| * ne ... que = "only" | | | | * " Nous n'avons vu personne. " = "We didn't see |
| * ne ... point = "not, not at all" (mostly literary) | | | | anybody." |
| Simple Verbs and Position of the Negation | | | | * " Je n'ai vu les enfants nulle part. " = " I did not |
| Usually, the element 'ne' comes before the verb | | | | see the kids anywhere." |
| which is marked for tense. Thus a simple verb is | | | | Ne..que (only) in compound tenses can take both |
| usually positioned between the 'ne' particle and the | | | | positions, depending on the intended meaning, as it |
| qualifying part of the negation: | | | | is strictly speaking an adverb and not a negation: |
| Example: | | | | * " Je n'ai pris qu'une pomme. " = "I only took one |
| * " Je ne sais pas. " = "I don't know." | | | | apple." |
| * " Il ne fume plus. " = "He doesn't smoke | | | | * " Je n'ai pensé qu'à vous. " = "I only |
| anymore." | | | | thought of you." |
| Note: 'ne' always comes before object pronouns - | | | | In fact, with 'ne ... que' the negation construction is |
| me (myself), te (you), le (him/it), la(she/it), lui(him | | | | not strictly necessary, and the same thought can |
| her/it), les (them): | | | | be expressed positively with the word seulement |
| * " Nous ne les invitons plus. " = "We don't invite | | | | (only): |
| them anymore." | | | | * " J'ai seulement pris une pomme. " = "I only |
| The Elided 'e'- ne and n' | | | | took one apple." |
| As with other words ending in a vowel in French, | | | | Spoken and Written Usage |
| the e of the 'ne' particle is elided (contraction) | | | | In colloquial French it is common to drop the 'ne' |
| when directly preceding a word beginning in a | | | | altogether in fast speech (but not in writing). |
| vowel (or with a silent 'h' then a vowel): | | | | It is also common in current literary style to omit |
| * " Il n'hésite pas. " = "He does not | | | | the pas particle with the verbs vouloir (to want), |
| hesitate." | | | | pouvoir (to be able to) and savoir (to know). |
| Compound Verbs and Position of the Negation | | | | Thus we have: |
| Compound verbs are composed of the past | | | | * " Je ne sais pas. " (correct) |
| participle of a verb [i.e. mangé (eaten), | | | | * " Je sais pas. " (spoken) |
| parlé (talked), which remains unchanged in | | | | * " Je ne sais. " (literary - equivalent to "I know |
| terms of tense] and an auxiliary (supporting) verb | | | | not. |