NEGATION

MOST COMMON NEGATIVES ARE

Ne .pas not Ne jamais never Ne personne nobody Ne plus anymore Ne rien nothing

HOW TO DO IT
The negative form of a verb is usually achieved by placing ne immediatey before the verb and the second part of the negative after the verb.

EXAMPLE
First part of the negation Second part of the negation

Elle ne parle pas franais

VERB

With me so far?!!

MORE EXAMPLES
I dont receive pocket money Je ne reois pas dargent de poche I have nothing to do Je nai rien faire

My parents never understand Mes parents ne comprennent jamais

Ready to have a go?

(Do one sentence at a time)

I dont have a part-time job anymore Je nai plus de petit boulot I dont earn any money Je ne gagne pas dargent I never go out during the week Je ne sors jamais pendant la semaine I never do anything in school Je ne fais rien lcole

EXERCISE

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR

You didnt really think it would be that easy?!!

COMPOUND VERBS (verbs made up of 2 parts)

When the verb is made up of 2 parts, the second element of the negation is usually placed after the first part of the verb.

EXAMPLE
First part of the negation Second part of the negation

Je nai rien fait

Second part of the verb

first part of the verb

MORE EXAMPLES
I didnt go on holiday with my parents Je ne suis pas all en vacances avec mes parents.
Ive never smoked Je nai jamais fum I dont want to work anymore Je ne veux plus travailler

COMPOUND VERBS (verbs made up of 2 parts)

Theres one exception to this rule! ne personne In this case, personne goes after the second part of the verb. Eg: Ils nont vu personne

REFLEXIVE VERBS
With reflexive verbs, the first part of the negation is placed before the reflexive pronoun.

EXAMPLE
first part of the negation

Je ne mentends pas bien avec ma soeur

Reflexive pronoun

MORE EXAMPLES
I dont argue with my parents Je ne me dispute pas avec mes parents At the weekend, I never wake up early Le week-end, je ne me rveille jamais de bonne heure

JAMAIS/PESONNE/RIEN
Jamais , personne and rien can be used on their own.
Eg: - Quest-ce que tu prends au petit djeuner? - Rien

PERSONNE / RIEN
personne and rien may also be subjects and will need to be placed at the begining of the sentence. Watch out! ne is still required! Eg: Personne ne le connat Rien ne me plat

Got it?

Well done!

(answers on the next slide)

Nobody knows where he is. They didnt hurry up. I havent finished my homework. She doesnt want to lend me her car. Our French teacher is never angry. You dont want to go anymore?

EXERCISE TO RECAP

ANSWERS
Personne ne sait o il est. Ils/elles ne se sont pas dpch(e)s. Je nai pas fini mes devoirs. Elle ne veut pas me prter sa voiture. Notre professeur de franais nest jamais en colre. Tu ne veux plus partir?

MORE PRACTICE
If you want to practise a bit more, go to the following exercise in Zut: http://zut.languageskills.co.uk/361.html