Negatives (1/2)
French: Edexcel IGCSE, topic 8.9.1
Ne... pas - Not
'Ne... pas' means 'not'.
1) Put 'ne' after the person
- Je ne
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.
Test yourself on Negatives (1/2)
How do you say 'I don't want' in French?
Quel est le négatif de 'je fais du sport'?
How do you say 'I would never eat' in French?
What are the translations of these negatives?