8.9.1
Negatives (1/2)
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Ne... pas - Not
'Ne... pas' means 'not'.

2) Add the verb
- Je ne joue

3) Add 'pas'
- Je ne joue pas

Verbs starting with a vowel
- For verbs starting with a vowel, you drop the 'e' from 'ne' and add an apostrophe.
- Je n'aime pas.
Other Negatives
Here are other ways to express yourself in the negative. They mostly used in exactly the same way as 'ne...pas'.

Ne...jamais - never
- Je ne pense jamais à ton anniversaire - I never think about your birthday.

Ne...personne - nobody, no one
- Je ne vois personne - I don't see anyone.

Ne...plus - no longer
- Je ne dors plus - I no longer sleep.

Ne...que - only
- Je ne veux vous rappeler qu' une chose - I only want to remind you of one thing.
- Je n'aime que les pommes - I only like apples.

Ne...rien - nothing
- Il n' y a rien ici - there is nothing here.

Ne...ni...ni
- Je n'ai ni faim ni soif - I am neither hungry nor thirsty.

Pas encore
- Je ne sais pas encore - I still don't know.
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6Common Tenses
6.1Present Tense
6.1.1Regular ER Verbs6.1.2Regular IR Verbs6.1.3Regular RE Verbs6.1.4Reflexive Verbs6.1.5Irregular ER Verbs (1/2)6.1.6Irregular ER Verbs (2/2)6.1.7Irregular IR Verbs (1/2)6.1.8Irregular IR Verbs (2/2)6.1.9Irregular RE Verbs (1/3)6.1.10Irregular RE Verbs (2/3)6.1.11Irregular RE Verbs (3/3)6.1.12Present Participle (1/2)6.1.13Present Participle (2/2)6.1.14Irregular Present Participles6.1.15Avoir & Etre
6.2Perfect Tense
6.3Imperfect tense
6.4Imperfect vs Perfect
7Advanced Tenses
7.1Conditional Tense
8Extra Grammar
8.1The Passive Voice
8.2Pronouns
8.3Asking Questions
8.4Nouns
8.7Quantifiers & Intensifiers
8.8Adjectives
8.9Negative
8.10Conjunctions
8.11Miscellaneous
Jump to other topics
1Home & Abroad
1.1Town & Rural Life
1.2Holiday, Tourism & Directions
1.4Everyday Life & Traditions
2Education & Employment
2.1School Life & Routine
2.2School Trips, Events & Exchanges
3Personal Life & Relationships
3.1House & Home
3.2Daily Routine & Helping at Home
4The World Around Us
4.1Global Issues
4.2Weather
4.3Travel & Transport
4.5Information & Tech
5Social Activities, Fitness & Health
5.1Special Occasions
5.2Hobbies & Interests
5.3Numbers
5.4Shopping & Money
5.5Illness & Health
5.6Food & Drink
6Common Tenses
6.1Present Tense
6.1.1Regular ER Verbs6.1.2Regular IR Verbs6.1.3Regular RE Verbs6.1.4Reflexive Verbs6.1.5Irregular ER Verbs (1/2)6.1.6Irregular ER Verbs (2/2)6.1.7Irregular IR Verbs (1/2)6.1.8Irregular IR Verbs (2/2)6.1.9Irregular RE Verbs (1/3)6.1.10Irregular RE Verbs (2/3)6.1.11Irregular RE Verbs (3/3)6.1.12Present Participle (1/2)6.1.13Present Participle (2/2)6.1.14Irregular Present Participles6.1.15Avoir & Etre
6.2Perfect Tense
6.3Imperfect tense
6.4Imperfect vs Perfect
7Advanced Tenses
7.1Conditional Tense
8Extra Grammar
8.1The Passive Voice
8.2Pronouns
8.3Asking Questions
8.4Nouns
8.7Quantifiers & Intensifiers
8.8Adjectives
8.9Negative
8.10Conjunctions
8.11Miscellaneous
Practice questions on Negatives (1/2)
Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.
- 1How do you say 'I don't want' in French?Multiple choice
- 2Quel est le négatif de 'je fais du sport'?Multiple choice
- 3How do you say 'I would never eat' in French?Multiple choice
- 4What are the translations of these negatives?Fill in the list
- 5Select the correct negative sentences:True / false
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