By the end of this lesson you'll be able to say "never", "nothing", "nobody" and "no longer" in French, and put them in the right place in the passé composé.
More words that replace pas
You know ne…pas from the lesson on negation. Four other words can take the place of pas, and ne stays in front of the verb.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ne … jamais | nuh … zhah-MEH | never |
| ne … rien | nuh … RYAN | nothing, not anything |
| ne … personne | nuh … pehr-SONN | nobody, not anybody |
| ne … plus | nuh … PLEW | no longer, not any more |
In the present, they all work just like pas.
Je ne bois jamais de café.
I never drink coffee.
Il ne dit rien.
He doesn't say anything.
Nous ne voyons personne ici.
We don't see anybody here.
Elle n'habite plus à Metz.
She doesn't live in Metz any more.
As with pas, un, une, des, du and de la change to de after jamais and plus: Je ne mange plus de viande (I don't eat meat any more).
The s of plus is silent in this negative.
Positive counterparts
Each of these words has a positive partner, and you'll often hear them in a question and its answer.
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| toujours | too-ZHOOR | alwaysOpposite: jamais. |
| quelque chose | kel-kuh SHOHZ | somethingOpposite: rien. |
| quelqu'un | kel-KUHN | someoneOpposite: personne. |
| encore | ahn-KOR | stillOpposite: ne … plus. |
- Tu vois quelqu'un ? — Non, je ne vois personne. (Do you see someone? — No, I don't see anybody.)
- Tu veux quelque chose ? — Non, je ne veux rien. (Do you want something? — No, I don't want anything.)
- Il est toujours en retard ? — Non, il n'est jamais en retard. (Is he always late? — No, he's never late.)
- Tu habites encore à Lyon ? — Non, je n'habite plus à Lyon. (Do you still live in Lyon? — No, I don't live in Lyon any more.)
In the passé composé
As in the lesson on the passé composé with être, the ne goes before the auxiliary. Jamais, plus and rien then go between the auxiliary and the participle, just where pas does. These work with both avoir and être.
Some of the sentences here use vu and fait, from the lesson on irregular past participles.
Je n'ai jamais voyagé.
I've never travelled.
Ils ne sont plus venus.
They didn't come any more.
Tu n'as rien fait !
You didn't do anything!
Personne is different. It goes after the participle.
Elle n'a invité personne.
She didn't invite anybody.
Je n'ai rencontré personne.
I didn't meet anybody.
Starting a sentence
Personne and rien can also be the subject of a sentence. They come first, and ne follows them, but there's no pas.
Personne ne parle.
Nobody's speaking.
Rien n'a changé.
Nothing has changed.
Don't add pas to any of these negatives. Je n'ai pas rien vu is a double negative with a different meaning (I did see something), so it's not the way to say "I saw nothing".
En français
- Tu as fait quelque chose samedi ? (Did you do something on Saturday?)
- Non, je n'ai rien fait. (No, I didn't do anything.)
- Tu as vu quelqu'un ? (Did you see someone?)
- Non, je n'ai vu personne. (No, I didn't see anybody.)
- Tu vas encore à la piscine ? (Do you still go to the pool?)
- Non, je ne vais plus à la piscine. (No, I don't go to the pool any more.)
What's next
Next, the lesson on talking about your weekend lets you put this to work in real conversation. Later on, the lesson on indefinite words adds more words like quelqu'un and quelque chose.