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Level 17 - Ne Pas

One of the most important things to be able to do in a foreign language is to say not only what something is, but also what it is not . This is called the negative . You can turn any statement or question into the negative in French by using two simple words: ne and pas . The ne goes before the verb and the pas goes after it. The ne becomes n' if the next word begins with a vowel or silent h.

Here are some examples.

je suis un garçon
je ne suis pas un garçon

le stylo est rouge
le stylo n'est pas rouge

les églises sont derrière la place
les églises ne sont pas derrière la place

le professeur punit l'élève
le professeur ne punit pas l'élève

nous attendons le professeur
nous n'attendons pas le professeur

c'est un livre
ce n'est pas un livre

  

I am a boy
I am not a boy

the pen is red
the pen is not red

the churches are behind the square
the churches are not behind the square

the teacher punishes the pupil
the teacher does not punish the pupil

we are waiting for the teacher
we are not waiting for the teacher

it's a book
it's not a book

There is one complication. If you are talking about numbers of objects in the negative, often represented in English translation by the word 'any', you must use the word de (or d' before a vowel or silent h) to represent the word any. This happens mostly with the verb avoir ('to have').

j'ai un frère
je n'ai pas de frère

il donne des pièces
il ne donne pas de pièces

nous avons une cravate orange
nous n'avons pas de cravate orange

tu portes un manteau
tu ne portes pas de manteau

  

I have a brother
I don't have a brother / any brothers

he gives some coins
he doesn't give any coins

we have an orange tie
we don't have an orange tie / any orange ties

you are wearing a coat
you are not wearing a coat / any coat


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