Kilo Lingo
Part of Chapter 4

CEFR A1-A2

Test yourself (26 questions)

French Negation

To negate a French sentence, wrap two words around the verb: ne goes before, the negative word (pas, jamais, rien, personne) goes after. The verb form itself doesn't change.

  • Je parle français. (I speak French.) -> Je ne parle pas français.
  • J'ai du temps. (I have time.) -> Je n'ai pas de temps.
  • Marie est venue. (Marie came.) -> Marie n'est pas venue.

The four Foundation-tier pairs

NegationEnglish
ne... pasnot
ne... jamaisnever
ne... riennothing
ne... personnenobody, no one

The structure is always the same. Ne (or n' before a vowel) goes before the verb; the second word goes after.

  • Je ne mange pas. (I don't eat.)
  • Je ne mange jamais de viande. (I never eat meat.)
  • Je ne mange rien. (I eat nothing.)
  • Je ne vois personne. (I see no one.)

Position in the compound past

In compound tenses (passé composé), pas, jamais, rien sit between the auxiliary and the past participle. Personne sits after the participle.

  • Je n'ai pas mangé. (I didn't eat.)
  • Je n'ai jamais vu ce film. (I've never seen this film.)
  • Je n'ai rien dit. (I didn't say anything.)
  • Je n'ai vu personne. (I saw no one.)

The personne exception catches everyone - it stays at the end because it functions as the direct object, not a sentence-level negator.

The article-becomes-de rule

After a negative verb, indefinite and partitive articles collapse to plain de (or d' before a vowel). This is mandatory.

  • J'ai un chien. -> Je n'ai pas de chien.
  • Je mange du pain. -> Je ne mange pas de pain.
  • Il a des amis. -> Il n'a pas d'amis.
  • J'achète de la viande. -> Je n'achète pas de viande.

The definite article (le, la, les) does not change - it still points to a specific thing:

  • Je vois le chien. -> Je ne vois pas le chien.

Negative words as subjects

When rien or personne is the subject, it goes before the verb and ne still appears:

  • Personne ne parle. (No one is speaking.)
  • Rien ne marche. (Nothing works.)
  • Personne n'est venu. (No one came.)

This is the only word order where the negative word leads.

The colloquial ne-drop

In casual spoken French, the ne disappears constantly. You'll hear all of these in real conversation:

  • Je sais pas. (I don't know.) - standard form: je ne sais pas
  • C'est pas grave. (It doesn't matter.) - standard: ce n'est pas grave
  • J'ai rien fait. (I didn't do anything.) - standard: je n'ai rien fait
  • T'as pas faim? (Aren't you hungry?) - standard: tu n'as pas faim

The drop is universal in informal speech. It's wrong in writing, in school essays, in formal speech, and on the GCSE exam. Recognise it; don't produce it until you've heard a few thousand hours of native input.

Worked examples

  • Je ne veux rien. (I don't want anything.)
  • Je n'ai jamais été à Paris. (I have never been to Paris.)
  • Je ne connais personne ici. (I don't know anyone here.)
  • Il n'y a pas de problème. (There's no problem.)
  • Je n'ai pas d'argent. (I don't have any money.)
  • Personne ne sait. (No one knows.)

Common mistakes English speakers make

Forgetting the ne: writing je sais pas in an essay because that's what you hear in films. The drop is colloquial only. Forgetting the article-becomes-de rule: je n'ai pas un chien is wrong, it's je n'ai pas de chien. And translating "anything" or "anyone" in positive sentences with rien or personne - they only work in negative contexts. For "is anyone here?", you say il y a quelqu'un?, not il y a personne?.

See also

Practise: test yourself

Fill in the blank

0/10

Fill the gap with the negative word that completes the sentence (pas, jamais, rien or personne), or with de after a negative verb. Each sentence has exactly one gap.

  1. Je ne mange de viande. (not) (ne... pas = not)

  2. Je ne mange de viande. (never) (ne... jamais = never)

  3. Je ne vois dans la rue. (nobody) (ne... personne = nobody)

  4. Je ne veux . (nothing) (ne... rien = nothing)

  5. Je n'ai pas chien. (un chien becomes...) (the indefinite article collapses to de after a negative)

  6. Je ne vois de chien ici. (never) (ne... jamais = never)

  7. Il n'y a dans la maison. (nobody) (ne... personne = nobody)

  8. Je ne fais . (nothing) (ne... rien = nothing)

  9. Je n'ai pas argent. (du argent becomes...) (de elides to d' before a vowel)

  10. Je ne mange de pain. (not) (ne... pas = not)

Translation drill

0/8

Translate into French. Keep the ne, use the correct elision (n' / j'), and apply the article-becomes-de rule after a negative verb.

  1. I don't eat meat.

  2. I never eat meat.

  3. I don't have any money.

  4. No one came.

  5. I don't have any friends.

  6. I don't know anyone here.

  7. She doesn't have a dog.

  8. Nothing works.

Pick the right one

0/8

Choose the word that correctly fills the gap. Each sentence has exactly one gap.

  1. Je n'ai d'amis. (I don't have any friends.)

  2. Je ne mange pas pain. (I don't eat bread.)

  3. Je ne connais ici. (I don't know anyone here.)

  4. Rien ne marche. -> Je ne fais . (I'm doing nothing.)

  5. Je ne mange de viande. (I don't eat meat.)

  6. Je ne mange jamais pain. (du pain becomes...)

  7. Je ne vois dans la rue. (I see no one in the street.)

  8. Je ne veux . (I want nothing.)

Frequently asked questions

What happens to articles after ne... pas in French?
Indefinite and partitive articles collapse to plain de (or d' before a vowel) after a negative verb. 'J'ai un chien' becomes 'je n'ai pas de chien'; 'je mange du pain' becomes 'je ne mange pas de pain'; 'il a des amis' becomes 'il n'a pas d'amis'. The definite article (le, la, les) does not change, because it still points to a specific thing: 'je ne vois pas le chien'.
Why do French speakers drop the ne in conversation?
In casual spoken French the ne disappears constantly - 'je sais pas' instead of 'je ne sais pas', 'c'est pas grave' instead of 'ce n'est pas grave', 'j'ai rien fait' instead of 'je n'ai rien fait'. It's universal in informal speech but stays in writing and in formal contexts. For learners: keep the ne in until your ear catches up to which registers tolerate the drop, then let it go where it fits.