🇫🇷 Building Sentences: Negation and Structure

The Story of “No” in French

Imagine you’re building a sandwich. 🥪 You have bread on the bottom and bread on the top. In French, saying “no” works exactly like that sandwich! You wrap your verb in two little words, like bread around your filling.

This is called the “negation sandwich” — and once you understand it, you’ll say “no” like a French pro!

🍞 Basic Sentence Structure

Before we say “no,” let’s see how French sentences normally work.

The Simple French Recipe

Subject + Verb + Everything Else

Just like in English!

Easy, right? Now let’s learn to say “no”!

🚫 Negative Sentences: The Sandwich Rule

Here’s the magic: In French, you don’t just say “not.” You wrap your verb in two words: ne and pas.

ne + VERB + pas

Think of it as a sandwich:

• 🍞 ne = bottom bread
• 🍖 verb = the filling
• 🍞 pas = top bread

Examples

💡 Secret Tip: When the verb starts with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u), ne becomes n’ — it gets a little haircut!

• Elle aime → Elle **n’**aime pas
• Il écoute → Il **n’**écoute pas

Your First Negative Sentences

🎭 Other Negative Expressions: Beyond “Not”

ne…pas is just the beginning! French has a whole family of negative words. They all use ne as the bottom bread, but the top bread changes!

Meet the Negative Family

Examples in Action

ne…jamais (never)

Je ne mange jamais de viande.
I never eat meat.

ne…rien (nothing)

Il ne voit rien.
He sees nothing.

ne…personne (nobody)

Elle ne connaît personne ici.
She knows nobody here.

ne…plus (no more)

Tu ne danses plus.
You don't dance anymore.

📦 Negative with Articles: The Magic Transformation

Here’s where French gets clever! When you say “no” about some of something, the word for “some” changes to de (or d’).

The Rule

un/une/des/du/de la → de (or d’ before vowel)

Watch the Magic

Why Does This Happen?

Think of it like this: If you have ZERO of something, you can’t say you have “some” of it. The articles disappear and get replaced by just de.

Example Story:

Marie has a cat. → Marie a un chat. Marie doesn’t have a cat. → Marie n’a pas de chat.

(She has zero cats, so no “a cat” — just “no cat”!)

🎯 Restrictive ne…que: “Only” in Disguise

Here’s a fun twist! ne…que looks negative but actually means “only”!

The Structure

ne + VERB + que + (what's left)

Examples

The Trick

Even though it uses ne, this isn’t really negative! It’s saying “nothing except” or “only.”

🧠 Memory Tip: que sounds a bit like “quoi” (what) — think “nothing WHAT (except) this!”

More Examples:

Tu ne lis que des bandes dessinées.
You only read comic books.

Nous ne travaillons que le lundi.
We only work on Mondays.

🔄 Negative Infinitive: Saying “Not” to Infinitives

When you want to make an infinitive verb negative (like “to eat” → “to not eat”), both negative words go BEFORE the verb!

The Special Rule

ne pas + INFINITIVE

No sandwich here! Both words stand together at the front.

Examples

Where You’ll See This

On signs:

Ne pas toucher!
Don't touch!

Ne pas stationner.
No parking.

With other verbs:

Je préfère ne pas manger.
I prefer not to eat.

Il décide de ne rien dire.
He decides to say nothing.

🗺️ Quick Visual Summary

graph TD
    A[French Negation] --> B[Regular Verbs]
    A --> C[Infinitives]

    B --> D[ne + VERB + pas]
    B --> E[ne + VERB + jamais]
    B --> F[ne + VERB + rien]
    B --> G[ne + VERB + personne]
    B --> H[ne + VERB + plus]
    B --> I[ne + VERB + que = only]

    C --> J[ne pas + INFINITIVE]

🎓 Quick Reference Table

⭐ You Did It!

You now know the secret of the French negation sandwich! 🥪

Remember:

1. Regular negation = sandwich (ne + VERB + pas/jamais/rien/etc.)
2. Articles change = un/une/des/du/de la → de
3. Only = ne…que (looks negative, means “only”)
4. Infinitives = ne pas TOGETHER before the verb

Practice making your own negative sentences, and soon saying “non” in French will be as easy as eating a sandwich! 🇫🇷

Bonne chance! (Good luck!)