Negative Clauses

A variety of constructions are used to negate statements, the most common of which are ne... pas, ne... plus, ne... rien, ne... personne, ne... jamais, ne... aucun, ne... que, ne... ni... ni..., ne... nulle part. In most ordinary constructions, the negative elements surround the verb (or, in compound tenses, the active part of the verb, the auxiliary):

• Je ne sais pas ce que tu veux. I don't know what you want.
• Elle ne veut plus lui parler. She doesn't want to speak to him anymore.
• Il n'a rien fait d'intéressant. He didn't do anything interesting.
• Nous n'avions jamais vu ce film. We had never seen this film.

• Il n'a lu aucun des livres du cours. He didn't read a single one of the books for the course.
• L'agent n'a raconté que ce qu'il a vu. The officer only recounted what he saw.
• Le client n'a voulu prendre ni thé ni café. The customer wanted neither tea nor coffee.
• Elle ne voulait aller nulle part. She didn't want to go anywhere.

• Personne n'est venu à la fête. Nobody came to the party.
• Rien ne s'est passé pendant votre absence. Nothing happened while you were away.

• Elle ne s'ennuie jamais. She never gets bored.
• Ne me parlez plus! Don't speak to me any more!
• Je ne le lui ai jamais dit. I never told it to him.

• Ne voulez-vous pas jouer au foot? Don't you want to play soccer?
• N'as-tu jamais visité un pays étranger? Haven't you ever visited a foreign country?
• Ne l'avez-vous pas vu? Haven't you seen it?

• On ne parle jamais aucune langue parfaitement. One never speaks any language perfectly.
• Il ne veut plus jamais le refaire. He never wants to do it again.

See also: Articles after negatives, Interrogative clauses.