A ne that negates nothing
Je crains qu'il ne vienne. If you hear a not in there, you have understood the sentence backwards. It means I'm afraid he will come. This ne is called the ne explétif (expletive ne) and carries no meaning. It only signals that the main clause contains fear, prevention or a contrast.
Hear the difference
Je crains qu'il ne vienne.
I'm afraid he will come.
Je crains qu'il ne vienne pas.
I'm afraid he won't come.
Partons avant qu'il ne pleuve.
Let's go before it rains.
Where the ne explétif shows up
It appears in subjunctive clauses after these triggers. What they share is something the speaker would rather avoid, or something that has not happened yet.
The triggers
| Trigger | Meaning |
|---|---|
| craindre que, avoir peur que | to fear that |
| empêcher que, éviter que | to prevent / avoid that |
| avant que | before |
| à moins que | unless |
| de peur que | for fear that |
The triggers in a sentence
J'ai peur qu'elle ne se trompe de train.
I'm worried she'll get on the wrong train.
Il faut empêcher que la situation ne s'aggrave.
We have to stop the situation getting worse.
Je passerai demain, à moins que tu ne sois occupé.
I'll come by tomorrow, unless you're busy.
Elle a tout vérifié de peur qu'il n'y ait une erreur.
She checked everything for fear there might be a mistake.
The ne explétif in comparisons
A ne also appears after a comparison of inequality (plus ... que, moins ... que, mieux que, pire que, autre que) as soon as a full clause with a verb follows que. Here there is no subjunctive, just an ordinary verb.
Comparisons with ne
C'est plus compliqué que je ne le pensais.
It's more complicated than I thought.
Il travaille moins qu'on ne le croit.
He works less than people think.
La situation est autre qu'elle ne paraît.
The situation is other than it appears.
The neutral le (ne le pensais) is usual but not required: plus cher que je ne pensais is just as correct.
Register: optional
The ne explétif is optional. It belongs to careful written French (the press, literature, formal letters); everyday speech drops it. So for you: recognising it is required, using it is a bonus.
