A strong negative review, a safety notice or a firm refusal all depend on precise negation: Je n'ai aimé ni le choix des acteurs ni la cinématographie, Ne jamais laisser un enfant seul, Personne n'est venu. English mostly builds negatives with not + any (not anything, not anyone, not anywhere). French has a dedicated word for each idea, paired with ne: rien, personne, nulle part, jamais, plus, aucun. You already know most of them. What trips up even strong Grade 12 writers is position: some of these words sit before the past participle and some after it, some go before an infinitive and some after it, and several can become the subject of the sentence. This lesson sorts all of that out, along with the article change after a negative and the difference between spoken and written negation.
| Negative | Meaning | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| ne… rien | nothing, not anything | Je ne comprends rien. | I don't understand anything. |
| ne… personne | nobody, not anyone | Je ne l'ai vu avec personne. | I didn't see him with anyone. |
| ne… jamais | never | Il n'y va jamais. | He never goes there. |
| ne… plus | no longer, not any more | Elle n'a plus d'argent. | She has no money left. |
| ne… aucun(e) | no, not a single | Je n'ai aucune idée. | I have no idea. |
| ne… nulle part | nowhere, not anywhere | On ne voit cette publicité nulle part. | You don't see this ad anywhere. |
| ne… que | only (a restriction, not a negation) | Elle ne boit que de l'eau. | She only drinks water. |
| ne… ni… ni | neither… nor | Je n'ai aimé ni le scénario ni la musique. | I liked neither the script nor the music. |
| ne… guère (recognition) | hardly, barely (formal, literary) | Je n'ai guère le temps. | I hardly have time. |
Compound tenses: two positions, one logic
ABetween auxiliary and participle: pas, rien, jamais, plus, guère
- Je n'ai rien compris. — I didn't understand anything.
- Il n'est jamais allé à Québec. — He has never been to Québec City.
- Elle n'a plus téléphoné. — She didn't call again.
- Nous n'avons pas encore fini. — We haven't finished yet.
BAfter the participle: personne, nulle part, aucun + noun, que, ni… ni
- Je n'ai vu personne. — I didn't see anyone.
- Nous ne l'avons trouvé nulle part. — We didn't find it anywhere.
- Il n'a lu aucun article. — He didn't read a single article.
- Elle n'a bu que de l'eau. — She only drank water.
Why two positions?
The left-hand words behave like pas: they are adverbs that hug the auxiliary. The right-hand words stand in for a real object or place, so they go where that object or place would go in a positive sentence: J'ai vu Marc → Je n'ai vu personne; Je l'ai trouvé dans le garage → Je ne l'ai trouvé nulle part; Elle a bu de l'eau → Elle n'a bu que de l'eau. Rien is the one object-like word that still sits before the participle (Je n'ai rien vu), unless it follows a preposition: Je n'ai pensé à rien. And when ni… ni negates the verbs themselves, each ni goes before a participle: Je n'ai ni bu ni mangé.
Negative word first, ne before the verb, no pas
Personne, rien, aucun(e) and ni… ni can be the subject. Put them first, keep ne before the verb and never add pas: Personne n'est venu (Nobody came). Rien n'était gratuit (Nothing was free). Aucune de ces filles ne va venir (None of these girls is going to come). Ni Paul ni Léa ne sont venus (Neither Paul nor Léa came). Personne and rien take a masculine singular verb and adjective (Personne n'est parfait), and aucun(e) is normally singular; ni… ni subjects usually take a plural verb.
Negative infinitives
| Pattern | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| ne pas + infinitive | C'est un film à ne pas manquer. | It's a film not to be missed. |
| ne pas + infinitive | Je lui ai dit de ne pas fumer. | I told him not to smoke. |
| ne jamais + infinitive | Ne jamais laisser un enfant seul. | Never leave a child alone. (sign or instructions) |
| ne rien + infinitive | Elle a décidé de ne rien manger. | She decided not to eat anything. |
| ne plus + infinitive | Il a promis de ne plus mentir. | He promised not to lie any more. |
| ne + infinitive + personne | Elle préfère ne voir personne ce soir. | She'd rather not see anyone tonight. |
| ne + infinitive + nulle part / aucun / que | J'ai choisi de n'aller nulle part cet été. | I chose not to go anywhere this summer. |
Instructions and the infinitive
Signs, recipes, forms and safety notices in French often use the infinitive instead of the imperative, which is why ne pas + infinitive is everywhere in public writing: Ne pas toucher (Do not touch), Ne pas déranger (Do not disturb), Ne rien jeter dans l'évier (Do not throw anything in the sink). With the infinitif passé, both orders exist: Je regrette de ne pas avoir fini is the everyday order, and de n'avoir pas fini is more literary.
What happens to the article
| Rule | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| un, une, des, du, de la → de (d') after a negation | Elle n'a plus d'argent. Il n'y a jamais de neige en juillet. | She has no money left. There's never any snow in July. |
| le, la, les stay | Je n'aime pas le café. | I don't like coffee. |
| after être, nothing changes | Ce n'est pas un problème. | It's not a problem. |
| contrast keeps the article | Je ne bois pas du café, je bois du thé. | I'm not drinking coffee, I'm drinking tea. |
| ne… que is not a negation | Elle ne boit que de l'eau. | She only drinks water. |
| ni… ni drops un, une, du, des | Je n'ai ni frère ni sœur. | I have neither a brother nor a sister. |
Sans … ni, and sans aucun
After sans (without), French links further items with ni rather than a plain et (or repeats sans: sans sucre et sans lait): un café sans sucre ni lait (a coffee without sugar or milk). A film critic might write that a performance is sans chair, ni grain, ni nuance, ni vie (without flesh, texture, nuance or life). And sans + aucun intensifies: sans aucun doute (without any doubt).
Spoken French drops ne; written French keeps it
In conversation, in Québec, Ontario, France and elsewhere, ne is very often left out: J'sais pas (I don't know), Y a personne (There's nobody), C'est pas grave (It's no big deal), Il vient jamais (He never comes). The second word carries the negation by itself. That is normal speech, not an error, but in any formal writing (an essay, an application, a review) put ne back. Also, do not confuse it with the ne explétif of formal French, which is not negative at all: Partons avant qu'il ne pleuve (Let's leave before it rains).
In context: a negative film review
- Je n'ai aimé ni le choix des acteurs ni la cinématographie de ce film. — I liked neither the casting nor the cinematography of this film.
- Rien n'y est crédible, et personne ne semble savoir pourquoi il est là. — Nothing in it is believable, and nobody seems to know why they're there.
- Le scénario n'offre aucune surprise : on ne rit jamais et on ne s'émeut guère. — The script offers no surprises: you never laugh and you are hardly moved.
- La musique ? On ne l'entend nulle part, sauf au générique. — The music? You don't hear it anywhere, except in the credits.
- Bref, une œuvre sans chair, ni grain, ni nuance, ni vie. Un film à ne pas voir. — In short, a work without flesh, texture, nuance or life. A film not worth seeing.