One frame, many second halves
French negation is a bracket: ne goes before the conjugated verb, the second piece goes after it. So far that second piece has mostly been pas. Now you swap it out – and the meaning changes with it.
ne + …
| Form | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ne … plus | not any more | Je ne travaille plus. |
| ne … jamais | never | Je ne travaille jamais. |
| ne … rien | nothing | Je ne dis rien. |
| ne … personne | nobody | Je ne vois personne. |
| ne … que | only (a restriction) | Je ne bois que de l'eau. |
| ne … aucun(e) | not a single, no | Je n'ai aucun doute. |
| ne … ni … ni | neither … nor | Je ne bois ni café ni thé. |
| ne … nulle part | nowhere | Je ne vais nulle part. |
The most useful second halves
Placement in compound tenses
In the passé composé the verb splits into auxiliary and participle. The negative words fall into two groups there: some sit before the participle, the others behind it.
Before or after the participle?
Before the participle
pas, plus, jamais, rien sit between the auxiliary and the participle.
Je n'ai rien compris.
I didn't understand anything.
Elle n'est jamais venue.
She never came.
Nous n'avons plus attendu.
We didn't wait any longer.
After the participle
personne, que, aucun, ni … ni, nulle part come only after the participle.
Je n'ai vu personne.
I didn't see anyone.
Il n'a mangé qu'une pomme.
He only ate one apple.
Nous ne sommes allés nulle part.
We didn't go anywhere.
The same split applies before an infinitive: ne and pas, plus, jamais or rien stand together in front of the infinitive. personne comes only after the infinitive.
Elle a décidé de ne pas répondre.
She decided not to answer.
Je préfère ne rien dire.
I'd rather say nothing.
Il essaie de ne déranger personne.
He is trying not to disturb anyone.
When rien or personne is the subject
rien, personne and aucun can also be the subject. They then open the sentence, and ne still sits in front of the verb. English has nothing to remind you of it, which is exactly why it gets forgotten.
At the start of the sentence
Personne n'est venu à la réunion.
Nobody came to the meeting.
Rien n'a changé depuis.
Nothing has changed since.
Aucun étudiant n'a répondu.
Not a single student answered.
ne … que - a limit, not a negation
ne … que looks like a negation but is not one. It means only and matches seulement. The sentence stays positive in content: Je n'ai que dix euros means you do have ten euros.
que sits directly in front of the element that is being limited.
Que stands before the limited part
Je ne travaille que le samedi.
I only work on Saturdays. (no other day)
Il n'a acheté que du pain.
He only bought bread. (nothing else)
Elle ne parle qu'à son frère.
She only talks to her brother.
Unlike ne … pas, ne … que leaves the article unchanged, because the content is not struck out, just limited.
pas de against que du
Je ne bois pas de vin.
I don't drink wine.
Je ne bois que du vin.
I only drink wine.
Combinations and ni … ni
Unlike English, French happily combines negative words, as long as pas is not one of them. plus comes before jamais, rien and personne, and jamais comes before rien and personne. English uses never again, nothing left and nobody any more.
Combined negatives
Il n'y a plus rien dans le frigo.
There is nothing left in the fridge.
Après minuit, il n'y a plus personne dans la rue.
After midnight there is nobody left in the street.
Je ne lui parlerai plus jamais.
I will never speak to him again.
With ne … ni … ni the indefinite and partitive articles drop out: Je ne bois ni café ni thé. The definite article and possessives stay: Il n'aime ni le sport ni la musique.
Elle ne mange ni viande ni poisson.
She eats neither meat nor fish.
Je n'ai ni le temps ni l'envie.
I have neither the time nor the desire.
