In this section:

• basic negation

• nuances of negation

• one word negative sentences

Basic negation

Negation is a grammatical term for the contradiction of some or all of the meaning of an affirmative (positive) sentence. In English, a sentence is commonly negated by inserting a single negative word (not, don’t, didn’t, won’t, etc.) into the appropriate place in the sentence. In French, a sentence is commonly negated by inserting two words.

Basic negation is formed by placing ne … pas around the conjugated verb. Ne becomes n’ in front of a verb starting with a vowel or a mute h.

In compound tenses, like the passé composé, the ne … pas are also placed around the conjugated verb, which is the auxiliary, avoir, or être. In the periphrastic future, ne … pas goes around the verb aller.

Note that, in spoken French, the ne / n’ is sometimes dropped. In familiar speech, tu is often pronounced as t’ before a vowel.

With negation definite articles (le, la, les, l’) stay the same.  Indefinite articles (un, une, des) and partitive articles (du, de la, de l’, des) become de/d’ except with the verb être.

Nuances of negation

Different nuances of negation are achieved by using the following negative expressions:

Note that ne becomes n’ in front of a verb starting with a vowel or a mute h. In spoken French, the ne / n’ is sometimes dropped. The second element of the negation is usually placed right after the conjugated verb and before the object, as in this dialogue:

Personne and rien are negative pronouns; they may function as the subject or direct object of a sentence, or as the object of a preposition. When personne is an object, it is placed after the verb or the preposition it complements:

make recording

Personne and rien may be used at the beginning of a sentence, as pronoun subjects, followed by ne / n’:

Some of the negations listed above can be combined, as shown in these examples:

Ne / n’ … aucun(e) + noun conveys the idea of ‘absolutely no, not a single’ + noun. Aucun agrees in gender with the word that follows.

Ne … ni … ni is commonly translated as ‘neither … nor’. It is used in a similar way as the English expression. Note, however, that in French the verb has to be preceded by ne (or n’ in front of a vowel or a mute h).

Ne … que is used to express a restriction. It is usually translated as ‘only’.

One word negative sentences

Oui is a ‘yes’ answer to an affirmative question, while si is a ‘yes’ to a negative question.  When you answer with si you are contradicting the negative question or statement.

Non is a one-word negative answer to a yes / no question; pas, by itself, negates part of a sentence:

Rien (nothing), personne (no one), and jamais (never) may be used in one-word answers:

Both parts of the negative expression come before a negative infinitive.