Forming negatives is an important part of speaking and writing French. Find out how to form negative structures, then check your understanding with activities and a quiz.
These negative structures are also formed by sandwiching the negative words around the conjugateWhen 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.verbA word used to describe an action or state of being.
Negative form
English
Example
ne 鈥 plus
no longer, not any more
Mon grand-p猫re ne travaille plus. - My grandfather does苍鈥檛 work any more.
ne 鈥 rien
nothing
Elle 苍鈥a rien bu. - She did苍鈥檛 drink anything.
ne 鈥 jamais
never
Nous 苍鈥allons jamais fumer. - We鈥檙e never going to smoke.
ne 鈥 que
only
Ils 苍鈥ont 辩耻鈥un petit peu d鈥檃rgent. - They only have a little bit of money.
ne 鈥 ni 鈥 ni
neither 鈥 nor
Tu ne manges ni viande ni poisson ? - Do you eat neither meat nor fish?
Negative form
ne 鈥 plus
English
no longer, not any more
Example
Mon grand-p猫re ne travaille plus. - My grandfather does苍鈥檛 work any more.
Negative form
ne 鈥 rien
English
nothing
Example
Elle 苍鈥a rien bu. - She did苍鈥檛 drink anything.
Negative form
ne 鈥 jamais
English
never
Example
Nous 苍鈥allons jamais fumer. - We鈥檙e never going to smoke.
Negative form
ne 鈥 que
English
only
Example
Ils 苍鈥ont 辩耻鈥un petit peu d鈥檃rgent. - They only have a little bit of money.
Negative form
ne 鈥 ni 鈥 ni
English
neither 鈥 nor
Example
Tu ne manges ni viande ni poisson ? - Do you eat neither meat nor fish?
To say 鈥榥obody鈥, 鈥榥o one鈥 or 鈥榥ot 鈥 anyone鈥, use ne 鈥 personne. It can be used in the same way as the negative structures above:
Je ne connais personne ici. - I do苍鈥檛 know anyone here.
Do苍鈥檛 confuse une personne (a person/someone) with ne 鈥 personne (no one):
Il y a une personne 脿 la banque. 鈥 There is a person/someone at the bank.
Il 苍鈥y a personne 脿 la banque. 鈥 There is苍鈥檛 anyone at the bank.
Personne 鈥 ne can also be used as the subject of the sentence:
Personne 苍鈥est all茅 au concert hier. 鈥 No one went to the concert yesterday.