More Negatives
| ne...plus | no longer |
| ne...jamais | never |
| ne...rien | nothing |
| ne...aucun(e) | not a single one |
| ne...que | only |
| ne...personne | nobody |
| ne...ni...ni | neither...nor |
| ne...nulle part | nowhere |
The negatives are used exactly like ne...pas; but que in ne...que
is placed directly before the noun it limits. Rien and
personne may be used as subjects: Personne n'est ici.
Aucun(e) by definition is singular, so the verb and nouns must
also be changed to the singular. With ni...ni, all articles
are dropped except definite articles. Je n'ai ni caméra ni
caméscope, but Je n'aime ni les chats ni les chiens.
Il n'aime plus travailler. He no longer likes to work.
(Or: He doesn't like to work anymore)
Nous ne voulons faire des achats que lundi. We want to
go shopping only on Monday.
Elle ne déteste personne. She hates no one.
(Or: She doesn't hate anyone.)
Negatives with Passé Composé
1. Ne...pas, ne...plus, ne...jamais, and ne...rien
Ne comes before auxiliary verb, and the other part is between auxiliary and
past participle.
Nous n'avons rien fait.We did nothing.Vous ne vous
êtes pas ennuyés.You were not bored.
2. Ne...personne, ne...aucun, ne...ni...ni, ne...nulle part, and ne...
que
Ne comes before the auxiliary verb, but the other part is after the past
participle.
Il n'a écouté personne.He listened to no one.
Il n'a fait aucune faute. He made not a single mistake.
* Use of ne ... pas de: In negative sentences, the partitives
and indefinite articles become de before the noun (unless the verb
is être, then nothing changes.)
Partitive: Je prends du pain et du beurre. I'm
having some bread and butter.
Negative: Je ne prends pas de pain ou de beurre. I
am not having any bread or butter.
Indefinite: J'ai un chien. I have a dog.
Negative: Je n'ai pas de chien. I don't have a dog.
Verb is être: C'est une chatte brune. It's a brown cat.
Negative: Ce n'est pas une chatte brune. It's not a brown
cat.
This article was used with permission from:
Indo-European Languages