negatives Flashcards
In French, how are negative sentences formed?
Normally, ne is put before the verb and pas after it. e.g Je parle espagnol (I speak Spanish)
Je ne parle pas espagnol (I do not speak Spanish)
What happens if the the word that follows ne begins with a vowel or a mute ‘h’?
Ne is shortened to n’
e.g.
C’est difficile (It is difficult)
Ce n’est pas difficile (It is not difficult)
In a negative sentence, what indefinite article should be used?
In negative sentences, use de instead of un, une or des.
J’ai des frères (I have brothers)
Je n’ai pas de frères (I don’t have any brothers)
Which phrase means ‘no more’
ne …. plus
e.g.
Il n‘ya plus de savon (There is no more soap)
Which phrase means ‘never’
ne … jamais
Je ne fume jamais (I never smoke)
Which phrase means ‘nothing’
ne … rien
Il ne fait rien (He doesn’t do anything)
Which phrase means ‘nobody’
ne … personne
Je ne vois personne (I don’t see anybody)
Which phrase means ‘only’
ne … que
Je n‘ai qu‘une soeur
(I only have one sister)
Which phrase means ‘neither … nor’
ne … ni … ni
Il ne parle ni français ni espagnol (He speaks neither French nor Spanish)
How are negative phrases formed in the perfect tense?
In most negative phrases in the perfect tense, the phrase goes around the part of avoir or être.
Je n‘ai pas dormi (I didn’t sleep)
What happens to the perfect tense constructions with
ne … que and ne … ni … ni
The negative phrases go around avoir/être and the past participle.
Je n‘ai mangé que du pain (I only ate some bread)
What happens to the direct and indirect object pronouns when used with a negative construction?
Direct and indirect pronouns are included within the negative phrase:
Il ne me parle plus (He no longer speaks to me)
Je ne l‘ai pas vu (I didn’t see it)
What happens to the reflexive pronouns when used with a negative construction?
With reflexive verbs, the ne goes before the reflexive pronoun.
Il ne s‘est pas lavé (he didn’t have a wash)
