SURVIVRE - SURVIVING
ME PRÉSENTER - INTRODUCING MYSELF
PARLER DE MON QUOTIDIEN - TALKING ABOUT MY DAILY LIFE
VOYAGER EN FRANCE - TRAVELLING IN FRANCE
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🅶 La négation simple – Simple negation

Comment faire des phrases négatives en français


How to make negative sentences in French

Negative sentences in French

A1

Grammar

15 minutes

Écrit par / Written by: Anthony Lucas

Dernière révision / Last update: 10 April 2024

It is great to know how to say simple sentences and expressions in French when you are a beginner. And one thing you should know too is how to make negative statements. How do you expect to survive in French if you cannot say no?


Dire “non” en français – Say “no” in French

Unless you are “in danger” and you need to stand firm, the best way to say no in French is “non merci”.

As you may know, politeness is very important to French people. Have a look at the lesson Politesse – Being polite in French to learn the basics.

🎧🇫🇷 French🇬🇧 English
nonno
non mercino thanks

Comment faire des phrases négatives en français ? – How to make negative sentences in French?

To make a sentence negative in French, you need to add two words: ne and pas. You have to write ne before the verb and pas after. Look at the examples and you will understand:

🎧🇫🇷 French🇬🇧 English
Je comprends.I understand.
Je ne comprends pas.I don’t understand.
Je sais.I know.
Je ne sais pas.I don’t know.
Je parle français.I speak French.
Je ne parle pas français.I don’t speak French.
Je veux … .I want… .
Je ne veux pas … .I don’t want… .

The French singer France Gall saying Je ne comprends pas

🇫🇷 France Gall était une chanteuse française, née le 9 octobre 1947 à Paris et morte le 7 janvier 2018. Ses chansons les plus connues sont :
Ella, elle l’a
Résiste
Evidemment


🇬🇧 France Gall was a French singer, born on 9 October 1947 in Paris and died on 7 January 2018. Her best-known songs are:
Ella, elle l’a
Résiste
Evidemment

ne … pas” ou “n’ … pas” ? – “ne … pas” or “n’ … pas”?

➡️ When writing and speaking negative sentences in French, ne transforms into n’ when the following word starts with a vowel or a h.

There is a dedicated lesson about this strange phenomenon called l’élision. Have a look at it to understand better!

🎧🇫🇷 French🇬🇧 English
Je n’ai pas de frère.I don’t have any brother.
Je n’habite pas à Paris.I don’t live in Paris.

Song Sympathique (Je ne veux pas travailler) by Pink Martini

🇫🇷 Sympathique (je ne veux pas travailler) est une chanson en français du groupe américain Pink Martini, inspirée d’un court poème de Guillaume Apollinaire, et qui figure sur leur album Sympathique publié en 1997, interprétée par la chanteuse du groupe, China Forbes.

Le fameux refrain est constitué de deux phrases négatives en français : Je ne veux pas travailler, je ne veux pas déjeuner (I don’t want to work, I don’t to have breakfast).


🇬🇧 Sympathique (je ne veux pas travailler) is a song in French by American band Pink Martini, inspired by a short poem by Guillaume Apollinaire, and featured on their 1997 album Sympathique, performed by the band’s lead singer China Forbes.

The famous chorus is made up of two negative sentences in French: Je ne veux pas travailler, je ne veux pas déjeuner (I don’t want to work, I don’t to have breakfast).

À RETENIR

WORTH REMEMBERING

Two words are necessary to give form to a negative sentence: ne and pas.

These two words go around the verb.

When the verb starts with a vowel, ne become n’.

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