Negation (ne...pas) in French

French lesson 8 of grammar: negation (ne...pas) in French

Negation (ne...pas) in French

Knowing the negation in French is really very important. Indeed, the negation in French is used to construct all the sentences in the negative form. In French, the simple negation is expressed with “ne pas” or “n’ pas ”. At the beginner level (A1 level), this is one of the first things to learn and master. The video below will teach you how to use negation in French:

In French, an affirmative sentence is constructed as follows: subject + verb + complement. Example: “Je parle français.” = “I speak French.” or “I do speak French.”


In French, a negative sentence is constructed as follows: subject + ne + verb + pas + complement. Example: “Je ne parle pas français.” = “I do not speak French.” So in English, “pas” is not and there is no work for “ne”.


Example :
Ils chantent bien.
Ils ne chantent pas bien.


Before a vowel (a, e, i, o, u, y) or an "h" the "ne" becomes " n’ ". Examples:


Tu habites à Paris.
Tu n’habites pas à Paris.


Vous aimez le chocolat.
Vous n’aimez pas le chocolat.


To deepen this grammar lesson on simple negation in French with “ne pas”, you can study the French course: learn to ask closed questions and the French course: learn to talk about tastes.


Once you have successfully mastered this grammar lesson on French negation, you can move on to the next French grammar lesson:


French grammar lesson 9: French descriptive adjectives


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