French Negation Placement: Your Essential Guide

Basic Negation Structure

In French, most negative expressions use two words that wrap around the conjugated verb: ne (n') + verb + pas/jamais/plus/rien/personne

Common Negative Words

• ne...pas (not)
• ne...jamais (never)
• ne...plus (no more/no longer)
• ne...rien (nothing)
• ne...personne (nobody)
• ne...que (only)

Present Tense Examples

Ne...Pas

1. "Je ne mange pas de pain" (I don't eat bread)

• "Ne" comes before "mange" and "pas" after it
• "De" replaces "du/de la/des" in negative sentences

2. "Elle n'aime pas le café" (She doesn't like coffee)

• "Ne" becomes "n'" before a vowel sound
• The article "le" stays because it's specific

Ne...Jamais

1. "Il ne dort jamais tard" (He never sleeps late)

• "Jamais" takes the same position as "pas"
• Expresses something that never happens

Ne...Plus

1. "Nous ne travaillons plus ici" (We no longer work here)

• "Plus" indicates a change from a previous state
• Shows something that used to happen but stopped

Compound Tense Examples

Passé Composé

1. "Je n'ai pas mangé" (I didn't eat/haven't eaten)

• "Ne" before auxiliary verb "avoir"
• "Pas" after auxiliary verb
• Main verb stays at the end

2. "Il n'est jamais allé à Paris" (He has never gone to Paris)

• "Ne" before auxiliary verb "être"
• "Jamais" after auxiliary verb
• Past participle at the end

With Infinitives

1. "Il décide de ne pas partir" (He decides not to leave)

• Both negative words come before the infinitive
• Different from conjugated verbs

Special Cases

Ne...Que (Only)

1. "Je ne bois que de l'eau" (I only drink water)

• "Que" means "only" in negative constructions
• Different meaning from other negative expressions

Double Negatives

1. "Je ne vois plus personne" (I don't see anyone anymore)

• Can combine "plus" with "personne"
• Both negative words follow placement rules

Key Points to Remember

• Always place "ne" before the conjugated verb
• Second negative word comes after conjugated verb
• With compound tenses, second negative word comes after auxiliary
• "Ne" becomes "n'" before vowels or silent h
• In informal spoken French, "ne" is often dropped

Practice these patterns with simple sentences first, then gradually build to more complex structures. Focus on the verb position to determine where negative words go.