I don’t…

La négation

In communication, it is important to be able to say what you want, what you are doing (affirmative sentence) or not (negative sentence) and negation is what helps to pass the message across.

French negatives can express not, neither, nor, never, no longer, no one, nobody, only and nothing. A negative sentence allows us to negate a statement, express some contradictions, disagreement, etc.

In this article, we shall study 3 negatives of the language:

Ne…pas

This is the most common form of negation and it means not or not any. The general rule of negation of present tense in French is:

ne + verbe + pas

E.g

• Je présente = Je ne présente pas
• Anna compete l’argent= Anna ne compte pas l’argent

Note: When the affirmative sentence has the indefinite article, you replace it with de after the pas.

• Je présente une chanson = Je ne présente pas de chanson
• Anna prepare un café = Anna ne prepare pas de café

Ne…plus

This means no longer or no more. It follows the same arrangement

ne + verbe + plus

Exemple

• Je présente = Je ne présente plus
• Anna prepare un cafe = Anna ne prepare plus de cafe

Ne…jamais

This means never or not ever.

ne + verbe + jamais

Exemple

• Je présente dans la classe = Je ne présente jamais dans la classe
• Anna prépare un café pour Papa = Anna ne prépare jamais de café pour Papa

Now your turn. Read this article and try to negate the sentences with any negatives of your choice.

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