2. Révisons!
Making a sentence negative (or saying that
something is not so) is extremely easy in French! In
most cases, to negate a sentence, you just have to
add the words “ne” and “pas” around the verb…
and that’s all!
Il chante – He sings Il ne chante pas – He doesn’t sing
Je suis français – I am French Je ne suis pas français – I am not French
3. More Expressions!
Using « ne… pas » is not the only way to make a sentence
negative in French. There are a few other phrases that you can
use to be more precise…
Ne…jamais = never
Ex. Il ne chante jamais – he never sings
Ne…rien = nothing/anything
Ex. Je ne vois rien – I see nothing/I don’t see anything
Ne…plus = no longer/anymore
Ex. Elle ne mange plus – she doesn’t eat anymore
Ne…que = only
Ex. Je n’aime que les BMW – I only like BMWs
Ne…personne = anyone/no one
Ex. Je ne connais personne – I know no one/ I don’t know anyone
Ne… nulle part = anywhere/nowhere
Ex. Je ne vais nulle part – I’m not going anywhere/I’m going nowhere
4. Let’s Try a Few Together…
Phrases en Anglais Traductions en Français
1. You never speak French 1. ___________________________
2. You no longer speak French 2. ___________________________
3. You only speak French 3. ___________________________
4. I don’t see anyone 4. ___________________________
5. He doesn’t want anything
5. ___________________________
6. She’s not going anywhere
6. ___________________________
5. Let’s Try a Few Together…
Phrases en Anglais Traductions en Français
1. You never speak in French 1. Tu ne parles jamais en français
2. You no longer speak in French 2. Tu ne parles plus en français
3. You only speak in French 3. Tu ne parles qu’en français
4. I don’t see anyone 4. Je ne vois personne
5. He doesn’t want anything 5. Il ne veut rien
6. She’s not going anywhere 6. Elle ne va nulle part
6. Passé Composé
If you want to use these phrases in the passé
composé, you MUST be careful! Like
ne…pas, you MUST put them around the helping
verb, and that is all!
J’ai mangé I ate
Je n’ai pas mangé I didn’t eat
Je n’ai rien mangé I didn’t eat anything/I ate nothing
Je n’ai plus mangé I didn’t eat anymore
Je n’ai jamais mangé I never ate
Je n’ai que mangé I only ate
7. Passé Composé - Exceptions
There are two exceptions to this rule in the passé composé:
ne… personne
ne… nulle part
When we use these expressions in the passé composé, they go
around the helping verb AND the past participle.
J’ai vu = I saw
Je n’ai vu personne = I saw no one/ I didn’t see anyone
Je suis allé = I went
Je ne suis allé nulle part = I went nowhere/I didn’t go anywhere
8. Let’s Try a Few More Together…
Phrases en Anglais Traductions en Français
1. I didn’t talk anymore 1. _______________________
2. She never sang 2. _______________________
3. You only ate 3. _______________________
4. They didn’t see anything 4. _______________________
5. We didn’t see anyone 5. _______________________
6. He didn’t go anywhere 6. _______________________
9. Let’s Try a Few More Together…
Phrases en Anglais Traductions en Français
1. I didn’t talk anymore 1. Je n’ai plus parlé
2. She never sang 2. Elle n’a jamais chanté
3. You only ate 3. Tu n’as que mangé
4. They didn’t do anything 4. Ils n’ont rien fait
5. We didn’t see anyone 5. Nous n’avons vu personne
6. He didn’t go anywhere
6. Il n’est allé nulle part
10. One Last Review…
Ne…jamais = never
Ne…rien = nothing/anything
Ne…plus = no longer/anymore
Ne…que = only
Ne…personne = anyone/no one
Ne… nulle part = anywhere/nowhere
