How to say ‘not’
Using ‘ne … pas’
An explanation of how to make a sentence negative in French by forming a 'sandwich' around the main verb
To say ‘not’, use ne and pas, on either side of the When a verb is broken down into 'I, you, he/she/it, we, they'. For example, the verb 'to be' in the present tense is: I am, you are, he/she is, we are, they are. A word used to describe an action or state of being. Use ’ before a vowel or ‘h’. In the A verb that describes an action that is happening now or that happens regularly, eg I eat breakfast every day. they are placed around the main verb in the sentence:
For example:
- Je ne veux pas aller à la plage. – I do’t want to go to the beach.
- Il ne joue pas au foot. – He is’t playing football./He does’t play football.
In the Used to talk about something you have done. It is formed with an auxiliary verb (avoir or être) and a past participle. the negative words wrap around the auxiliary avoir or êٰ:
For example:
- Ils ’ont pas fait leurs devoirs. – They did’t do their homework.
- Nous ne sommes pas allés aux États-Unis. – We did’t go to the USA.
In the near future, the negative words are placed around aller:
For example:
- Nous ’allons pas manger au restaurant cet après-midi. – We are’t going to eat at the restaurant this afternoon.
With negative questions, add a question mark and make the pitch of your voice go up (known as inflection), or insert est-ce que. For example:
Tu ne vas pas au concert ce soir ? - Are’t you going to the concert this evening?
Pourquoi est-ce que vous ’aimez pas partir en vacances ? - Why do’t you like going on holiday?
Make these positive sentences negative, using ne … pas.
Question
Il parle avec sa sœur. - He's talking to his sister.
Il ne parle pas avec sa sœur. - He’s not talking to his sister.
Question
Pourquoi tu aimes cette chanson ? - Why do you like this song?
Pourquoi tu ’aimes pas cette chanson ? / Pourquoi est-ce que tu ’aimes pas cette chanson ? - Why do’t you like this song?
Question
Nous avons utilisé beaucoup de plastique. - We have used lots of plastic.
Nous ’avons pas utilisé beaucoup de plastique. - We have’t used much plastic.
Question
Je vais me coucher à neuf heures. - I am going to go to bed at nine o'clock.
Je ne vais pas me coucher à neuf heures. - I am not going to go to bed at nine o’clock.