French/Grammar/Negation
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[edit] ne..pas
- Simple negation is done by wrapping ne...pas around the verb.
- Je ne vole pas. - I do not steal.
- In a perfect tense, ne...pas wraps around the auxillary verb, not the participle.
- Je n'ai pas volé. - I haven't stolen.
- When an infinitive and conjugated verb are together, ne...pas usually wraps around the conjugated verb.
- Je ne veux pas voler. - I do not want to steal.
- ne pas can also go directly in front of the infinitive for a different meaning.
- Je veux ne pas voler. - I want not to steal.
- ne goes before any pronoun relating to the verb it affects.
- Je ne l'ai pas volé. - I did not steal it.
- Nous ne nous aimons pas. - We do not love each other.
[edit] Other negative expressions
| ne...aucun(e) | not any, none, no |
| ne...jamais | never |
| ne...ni...ni | neither...nor |
| ne...pas du tout | not at all |
| ne...pas encore | not yet |
| ne...personne | nobody |
| ne...plus | no longer |
| ne...guère | hardly |
| ne...que | only |
| ne...rien | nothing |
- ne...personne wraps around the entire verb set.
- Je ne l'ai donné à personne. - I did not give it to anyone.
- Je ne veux le donner à personne. - I do not want to give it to anybody.
- ne...ni...ni requires two objects, either direct or indirect, and comes before them.
- Je ne l'ai donné ni à mon frère, ni à ma sœur. - I gave it neither to my brother nor my sister.
- Je ne peux voir ni mon frère ni ma sœur. - I am able to see neither my brother nor my sister.
- In ne...aucun(e), aucun(e) goes before an object.
- Il n'a aucun ami. Aucun. - He has no friend. None.
- Il n'a aucune feuille de papier. Aucune. - He has no sheet of paper. None.
- Il n'a qu'une feuille de papier. - He has only one piece of paper.
- Je ne peux guère voir mon frère et ma sœur - I can hardly see my brother and sister.
[edit] Spoken French
Now, the 'ne' sometimes disappears when one speaks. However, it is always used in written French and for formal conversations.
- Je ne l'ai donné à personne (I didn't give it to anyone)
- Je ne sais pas (I don't know)
[edit] Summary
To say not, never or other negative verbs you have to 'sandwich' the negative words around a verb.
Example:
- Il n'y a pas de cinéma. (meaning: "There is not a cinema")
- On ne peut jamais aller en boite. (meaning: "You can never go partying")
- Il n' y a rien à faire ici. (meaning: "There is nothing to do here")
If " ne " is before a vowel then it changes to " n' ".
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