Negatives with pronouns: Grammar in context
French makes a verb negative by wrapping it in two parts around the conjugated verb: ne (shortened to n' before a vowel or silent h) before the verb, and a second word after it, such as pas (not), jamais (never), plus (no more or no longer), rien (nothing) or personne (nobody). Some negatives function as pronouns and can stand as the subject of a sentence (personne ne vient, rien ne marche), reversing the usual word order.
Before you start
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Method
- Put ne (n' before a vowel or silent h) immediately before the conjugated verb, and the second negative word immediately after it: je ne mange pas, elle n'aime jamais ça, nous ne voyons plus nos voisins.
- Learn the core set: ne...pas (not), ne...jamais (never), ne...plus (no more/no longer), ne...rien (nothing), ne...personne (nobody), ne...que (only), ne...ni...ni (neither...nor), ne...aucun(e) (no/not any), ne...nulle part (nowhere).
- In the perfect tense, wrap ne...pas, jamais, plus or rien around the auxiliary verb, before the past participle: je n'ai pas mangé, elle n'est jamais partie, ils n'ont rien vu.
- Exceptions in the perfect tense: personne, que and nulle part go after the past participle, not around the auxiliary: je n'ai vu personne, elle n'a mangé que des légumes, il n'est allé nulle part.
- When negating an infinitive construction, keep ne...pas together before the infinitive: il décide de ne pas sortir, elle préfère ne jamais mentir.
- To use rien or personne as the subject, reverse the normal order to (rien/personne) ne + verb: rien ne l'intéresse, personne n'est venu.
- Drop the du/de la/des/un/une after a negative and replace it with de (d' before a vowel): j'ai un chat becomes je n'ai pas de chat; je mange des légumes becomes je ne mange jamais de légumes.
Worked example
Make each sentence negative using the negative given in brackets, making any other necessary changes: (a) Je mange de la viande. (ne...jamais) (b) Elle a vu ses amies. (ne...personne) (c) Il aime sortir le soir. (ne...plus).
- (a) Put ne before 'mange' and jamais after; the partitive article 'de la' becomes 'de': je ne mange jamais de viande.
- (b) This is the perfect tense, and personne is one of the exceptions that goes after the past participle rather than around the auxiliary: elle n'a vu personne.
- (c) 'aime' is the conjugated verb being negated, not 'sortir', so ne...plus wraps around it as normal: il n'aime plus sortir le soir.
- Final sentences: Je ne mange jamais de viande. Elle n'a vu personne. Il n'aime plus sortir le soir.
Practice questions
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Q1Translate: 'I never eat meat.'Show answer
Answer: Je ne mange jamais de viande.
Q2In the perfect tense, does 'personne' go around the auxiliary or after the past participle?Show answer
Answer: After the past participle, as in je n'ai vu personne.
Q3Complete: Il ______ (ne...rien) comprendre.Show answer
Answer: ne comprend rien.
Q4Translate using ne...que: 'She only speaks Spanish.'Show answer
Answer: Elle ne parle qu'espagnol.
Q5Rewrite using personne as the subject: negate 'Quelqu'un est venu' to mean nobody came.Show answer
Answer: Personne n'est venu.
Q6Make negative, removing the article: 'J'ai des frères.'Show answer
Answer: Je n'ai pas de frères.
Q7Translate: 'We no longer live in Paris.'Show answer
Answer: Nous n'habitons plus à Paris.
Q8Spot the error: 'Elle n'a pas vu personne.'Show answer
Answer: This double-negates; personne already means nobody, so pas is not needed: Elle n'a vu personne.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE French exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Translate this passage into French: My brother never helps at home. He does nothing in the kitchen and he never does the washing-up. Yesterday, he only tidied his bedroom, and nobody was happy about that.
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Write four full sentences in French about things you and your family never do, using a different negative expression in each sentence from this list: ne...jamais, ne...plus, ne...personne, ne...que. Each sentence must be at least six words long and grammatically complete.
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