More Negatives
| ne...plus |
no longer |
| ne...jamais |
never |
| ne...rien |
nothing |
| ne...aucun(e) |
not a single one |
| ne...que |
only |
| ne...personne |
nobody |
| ne...ni...ni |
neither...nor |
| ne...nulle part |
nowhere |
The negatives are
used exactly like ne...pas;
but que in ne...que is
placed directly before the noun
it limits. Rien and
personne may be used as
subjects: Personne n'est
ici. Aucun(e) by
definition is singular, so the
verb and nouns must also be changed
to the singular. With ni...ni,
all articles are dropped except
definite articles. Je
n'ai ni caméra ni caméscope,
but Je n'aime ni les chats
ni les chiens.
Il n'aime plus
travailler. He no longer
likes to work. (Or: He doesn't
like to work anymore)
Nous ne voulons faire des
achats que lundi. We
want to go shopping only on Monday.
Elle ne déteste personne.
She hates no one. (Or:
She doesn't hate anyone.)
Negatives with
Passé Composé
1. Ne...pas, ne...plus, ne...jamais,
and ne...rien
Ne comes before auxiliary verb,
and the other part is between
auxiliary and past participle.
Nous n'avons rien fait. We
did nothing. Vous ne vous
êtes pas ennuyés. You were
not bored.
2. Ne...personne,
ne...aucun, ne...ni...ni, ne...nulle
part, and ne... que
Ne comes before the auxiliary
verb, but the other part is after
the past participle.
Il n'a écouté personne. He
listened to no one. Il n'a
fait aucune faute. He made
not a single mistake.
* Use of ne ...
pas de: In negative
sentences, the partitives and
indefinite articles become de
before the noun (unless the verb
is être, then nothing changes.)
Partitive: Je prends du
pain et du beurre. I'm
having some bread and butter.
Negative: Je ne prends pas
de pain ou de beurre.
I am not having any bread
or butter.
Indefinite: J'ai un
chien. I have a dog.
Negative: Je n'ai pas de
chien. I don't have a dog.
Verb is être: C'est une
chatte brune. It's a brown cat.
Negative: Ce n'est pas une
chatte brune. It's not
a brown cat.
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