Negation
To make a French sentence negative, wrap the conjugated verb in ne … pas. Ne goes before the verb, pas goes after it. This frame is the default 'not', and it has cousins (ne … jamais 'never', ne … rien 'nothing', ne … personne 'no one', ne … plus 'no longer') that swap pas for a more specific word. Spoken French often drops the ne casually, but writing keeps it.
Structure
[SUBJECT] + ne + [VERB] + pas
nuh ... PAH
How to Think About It
Negation in French is a sandwich, not a single word. The verb sits between ne and pas, and other negation words slot into the pas position to refine the meaning (jamais, rien, personne, plus, aucun, nulle part). Before a vowel or silent h, ne contracts to n' (n'est, n'a). Pronouns hop inside the sandwich next to the verb (je ne le sais pas) — they don't go after pas.
Examples
La voiture n'est pas belle.
lah vwa-TÜR nay PAH BEL
The car isn't pretty.
Il n'a pas d'eau.
eel nah PAH DOH
He doesn't have any water.
Tu ne pollues pas l'air.
tü nuh po-LÜ PAH LAIR
You don't pollute the air.
Common Mistake
Learners drop ne and keep only pas, mimicking informal speech ('je sais pas'). In writing, on a test, or in any formal setting, both pieces are required. Also, ne … pas de replaces un/une/du/de la in front of the object: j'ai un chien → je n'ai pas de chien (not pas un chien).
Je sais pas la réponse. / Je n'ai pas un chien.
Je ne sais pas la réponse. / Je n'ai pas de chien.
Don't Confuse With
ne … jamais / rien / personne / plus
Swap pas for jamais ('never'), rien ('nothing'), personne ('no one'), plus ('no longer'). Each refines the negation in a specific direction; you don't stack pas with them.
ne explétif
A non-negating ne that appears in certain formal subordinate clauses (j'ai peur qu'il ne vienne) — it doesn't negate the verb. Don't read every ne as negative.
ni … ni …
For 'neither … nor …' (Je ne mange ni viande ni poisson). Keeps the ne but replaces pas entirely with the ni … ni structure.
Practice
Fill in the blank: Je ___ parle ___ anglais.
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ne / pas
Fill in the blank: Elle n'a ___ d'argent.
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pas
Arrange: pas / il / le / café / aime / n' (He doesn't like coffee.)
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Il n'aime pas le café.
Translate to French: I don't have a car.
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Je n'ai pas de voiture.
Write a sentence about something you don't do, using ne … pas.
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Le matin, je ne bois pas de café parce que ça me rend nerveux.
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Related Grammar Patterns
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