Not: Ne...pas Negation

By the end of this lesson, you will form negative sentences in French using ne...pas and related expressions.

The French Negation Sandwich

In French, negation wraps around the conjugated verb like a sandwich. The two key words are:

ne + [conjugated verb] + pas

Je parle. → Je ne parle pas. — I don't speak. Elle est ici. → *Elle **n'*est pas ici. — She isn't here. Nous mangeons. → Nous ne mangeons pas. — We don't eat.

Elision: ne → n'

Before a vowel or mute h, ne contracts to n':

Je n'aime pas le café. — I don't like coffee. Il n'habite pas à Paris. — He doesn't live in Paris. On n'a pas d'argent. — We don't have money.

This contraction is mandatory — you cannot say je ne aime.

Position: Always Around the Conjugated Verb

The rule: wrap ne...pas around the conjugated verb only — not infinitives, not past participles (yet).

Je ne veux pas partir. — I don't want to leave. (ne...pas wraps veux, not partir)

Elle n'aime pas chanter. — She doesn't like to sing. (aime is conjugated; chanter is not)

Spoken French: Dropping "ne"

In casual spoken French, the ne is often dropped:

Je sais pas. — I don't know. (instead of je ne sais pas) C'est pas vrai! — That's not true! (instead of ce n'est pas vrai) T'as pas vu? — Didn't you see? (instead of tu n'as pas vu)

This is very common in everyday speech. Keep the full ne...pas in writing and formal speech.

Other Negative Expressions

The ne...pas structure extends to other negative expressions. They all sandwich the verb:

Expression	Meaning	Example
ne...pas	not	Je ne dors pas. (I don't sleep)
ne...jamais	never	(He never lies)