We use negation expressions in French to say that something didn’t happen, isn’t a certain way, or won’t be the case in the future. Expressions like Je ne sais pas meaning I don't know, je ne sais rien meaning I know nothing, and je ne sais jamais meaning I never know are all examples of negation in French. Of course, I’m sure you know the most common negative expression ne...pas meaning not. But the French language is so rich that you have more than a dozen more French negative structures to discover!
In this post, we’ll review the most common negative structures in French, the position of the negation expressions in a sentence, when ne can be omitted, when pas can be omitted, and more. C’est parti ! meaning Let’s get started!
What are the negative structures in French?
All negative structures in French are made of two parts. The negation word ne is almost always part of the negative structure (and it is typically the first element), but the second part varies. Though pas is the most common second element, there are many more to learn! Here, I am listing the “b.a.-ba” (ABCs) of the negative structures that are useful for you to know, as well as their affirmative equivalents.
| Affirmative | Negative | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
le, la, l’, les Translation: the | ne…pas le/la/l’/les Translation: not | J’aime les frites. Translation: I like French fries. | Je n'aime pas les frites. Translation: I don’t like French fries. |
un, une, des, du, de / la, de l', des Translation: a / some | ne…pas de Translation: not | Elle écoute de la musique. Translation: She listens to music. | Elle n’écoute pas de musique. Translation: She doesn't listen to music. |
encore / toujours Translation: still | ne…plus Translation: no more, no longer | On veut encore attendre. Translation: We still want to wait. Il habite toujours à Nîmes. Translation: He still lives in Nîmes. | On ne veut plus attendre. Translation: We no longer want to wait. Il n’habite plus à Nîmes. Translation: He no longer lives in Nîmes. |
quelque chose, tout Translation: something, everything | ne…rien / rien…ne Translation: nothing, not anything | Ils achètent tout ! Translation: They’re buying everything. | Ils n’achètent rien. Translation: They're buying nothing. |
quelqu’un, tout le monde Translation: someone, everyone | ne…personne / personne…ne Translation: no one, nobody, not anybody | Vous connaissez tout le monde. Translation: You know everybody. | Vous ne connaissez personne. Translation: You don't know anyone. |
quelque part Translation: somewhere | ne…nulle part Translation: nowhere, not anywhere | Vous sortez quelque part ? Translation: Are you going out somewhere? | Vous ne sortez nulle part ? Translation: You aren’t going out anywhere? |
Some useful points to remember:
Ne becomes n’ in front of a vowel or mute h. It makes the pronunciation much easier.
Rien, jamais, personne, plus, etc. replace pas as the second element of the negative structure. So there’s no need to use both!
❌ Il ne dit pas rien → ✅ Il ne dit rienTranslation: He says nothing.The indefinite articles un, une, des meaning a/some and the partitive articles du, de la, de l’, des meaning some only have one form in the negative. 🥁 Drum roll…it is de!
J’ai de la fièvre. ≠ Je n’ai pas de fièvre.Translation: I have a fever. ≠ I don’t have a fever.Only the definite articles le, la l’, les stay in the negative sentence:
Ils aiment bien les films de super-héros. ≠ Ils n’aiment pas les films de super-héros.Translation: They like superhero movies. ≠ They don’t like superhero movies.
There are many more French negative structures that I will use in my examples throughout this post.
Where to put negation in a French sentence?
Generally, in a French sentence, negation goes around the conjugated verb. However, as you begin to negate compound tenses, verbs followed by infinitives, pronominal verbs, verbs with object pronouns, and infinitives, the placement of the negative structure can be a bit more complicated.
As I give you the word order, I will use a variety of negative structures in my examples. Keep in mind that pas can be replaced by any of the other negation words that you’ve seen above (jamais, plus, etc.).
Simple Tenses
neconjugated verb
pas/rien/jamais/…Ses enfants ne vont jamais chez le coiffeur.Translation: Her children never go to the hairdresser.Compound Tenses
neconjugated verb
pas/rien/jamais/…past participle
Nous n'avions rien commandé.Translation: We haven't ordered anything.Negated verb + infinitive
Some examples: modal verbs (pouvoir, devoir, vouloir…) + infinitive or near future (aller + infinitive)
neconjugated verb
pas/rien/jamais/…infinitive
Tu ne devras plus arriver en retard !Translation: You mustn’t be late anymore!With a pronominal verb
In both simple and compound tenses:
nereflexive pronoun
Mon fils ne s'appellera pas Alexandre!Translation: My son won’t be named Alexander!Nous ne nous sommes jamais disputés.Translation: We never argued with each other.Note: The position of the second part of the negation (e.g. pas/rien/jamais…) depends on the tense. See the rules above!
With an object pronoun
In both simple and compound tenses:
nefirst object pronoun
Il ne la vendra jamais!Translation: He will never sell it!Je ne lui ai rien demandé.Translation: I didn’t ask him anything.Note: Again, the position of the second part of the negation (e.g. pas/rien/jamais…) depends on the tense. See the rules above!
To negate the infinitive verb itself
nepas/rien/jamais/…(pronouns)
infinitive verb
Ils ont décidé de ne pas voyager.Translation: They decided not to travel.Il m’a demandé de ne jamais les ranger.Translation: He asked me to never put them away.With personne / rien as a subject
personne / rienneverb
Personne ne joue ?Translation: Nobody is playing?Rien ne marche !Translation: Nothing is working!
You can also use negation in questions in French, which can form negative questions or even tag questions.
What is the order of negation words in French?
It is possible to use several negation words in one single sentence, but they must follow a set order, with ne coming first. For example:
Here is the specific order of negation words to follow:
ne
Wait, what’s que? The restriction phrase ne…que can be used alongside a negation, so it’s important for you to know where it goes! Look here for more info about ne…que in French.
That being said, how would you say, “After that, he never ate anywhere again”?
You’ve now looked at the position of the negation(s), but in speaking, ne is often omitted. Let's find out when!
When can ‘ne’ be omitted in French negation?
It’s normal for French native speakers to omit the negation word ne when speaking in informal situations. Take a look:
Formal:
Informal:
The above sentence omits ne in front of the verb, but you can also leave ne out in front of an adjective or an adverb and just add the second part of the negation pas, plus, etc. Keep in mind these structures remain informal and it is always possible to add ne.
pas + adjective
C’est pas normal de manger des sardines au petit-déjeuner !Translation: It's not normal to eat sardines for breakfast!pas + adverb
Je sais pas vraiment si j’aurai de la place dans mon coffre pour mettre tous tes cartons !Translation: I don't really know if I'll have room in my trunk to put all your boxes!
When to use ‘pas’ without ‘ne’?
Sometimes, pas is used on its own in front of a noun or a pronoun or as an equivalent to “not.”
pas + noun
Tu es libre vendredi soir ?Translation: Are you free on Friday night?Pas vendredi, je travaille jusqu’à 22h.Translation: Not on Friday, I’m working until 10pm.pas + pronoun
Pas lui ! Je ne peux pas supporter ses blagues !Translation: Not him! I can’t stand his jokes.pas alone, as an equivalent to “not.”
Tu viendras avec nous, ou pas ?Translation: Will you be coming with us, or not?
Check out this list of common French expressions using pas!
Although leaving ne out is the most common omission in French, there are also occurrences where you can leave pas out too. Let’s take a look!
When can ‘pas’ be omitted in French?
You’ll often hear French speakers use ne without pas in front of the infinitive verbs pouvoir meaning to be able to, can, savoir meaning to know, cesser meaning to cease, and oser meaning to dare.
After the expression il y a + time + que (it has been + time + since), we can also use ne on its own.
As an alternative to il y a, you can also use voici, voilà, or more informally ça fait.
I hope this post has helped you understand how to use the negative structures in French. One more question you might have is why ne is sometimes used on its own in cases which are not negation. This is called the French ne explétif and you can find out more about it by reading our article. If you would like to practice or test your skills, here are some fun French negative expressions activities for you.
In a nutshell
When using negative structures in French, keep the following tips in mind:
The basic negative structure is ne...pas meaning not, which is placed around the negated verb. In compound tenses like the passé composé, it goes around the auxiliary être/avoir meaning to be/to have, and when a conjugated verb is followed by an infinitive, ne...pas surrounds the conjugated verb only.
In informal speech, ne/n’ is often dropped, after verbs, nouns, pronouns, adverbs, and adjectives.
The negative expressions ne…jamais meaning never, ne…plus meaning no longer, ne…rien meaning nothing, ne…pas du tout meaning not at all follow the same word order as ne...pas.
The negative pronoun personne meaning no one and rien meaning nothing can be placed at the beginning of the sentence — followed by ne — when they are subjects or after the verb when they are direct objects.
Pas can be omitted in the expression il y a + time + que.
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