Starter quiz
- How do you form a basic negative sentence in French?
- By placing 'pas' after the verb.
- By placing 'ne' before the verb.
- By placing 'ne...pas' around the conjugated verb. ✓
- By adding 'non' to the end of the sentence
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- Place the words in the correct order to form the negative perfect tense. n' / ai / téléchargé/ pas / je
- 1⇔je
- 2⇔n'
- 3⇔ai
- 4⇔pas
- 5⇔téléchargé
- Which of the following is the correct negative form of this sentence? 'Je mange une pomme.'
- Je ne mange pas une pomme.
- Je ne mange pas de pomme. ✓
- Je ne mange pas la pomme.
- Je ne mange pas des pommes.
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- Match the French negative phrase with its English equivalent:
- ne ...pas⇔not ✓
- ne ...plus⇔no longer ✓
- ne ...jamais⇔never ✓
- Which of the following sentences correctly uses 'ne ...plus'?
- Je ne plus joue.
- Je ne joue plus. ✓
- Je plus ne joue.
- Je joue ne plus.
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- Which of the following correctly completes the sentence: 'Je ______ jamais visité Paris.' (I have never visited Paris.)
- ne ai
- n'ai ✓
- ne a
- ai ne
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Exit quiz
- Which of the following is a correct negative sentence?
- il ne mange pas ✓
- il ne pas mange
- il pas ne mange
- il mange ne pas
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- Put the following words in the correct order to form a negative sentence:
- 1⇔je
- 2⇔ne
- 3⇔mange
- 4⇔pas
- Which of the following structures are correct negatives?
- pas … ne
- ne … pas ✓
- ne … jamais ✓
- jamais … ne
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- Change the following sentence to negative: 'J'ai mangé une pomme.' (I ate an apple.)
- 'Je n'ai pas mangé de pomme.' ✓
- Match the positive sentence with its correct negative form:
- J'ai des amis.⇔Je n'ai pas d’amis. ✓
- Il a du pain.⇔Il n'a pas de pain. ✓
- Elle a une voiture.⇔Elle n'a pas de voiture. ✓
- Put the following words in the correct order to form a negative sentence in the near future tense ('aller + infinitive'):
- 1⇔mes
- 2⇔parents
- 3⇔ne
- 4⇔vont
- 5⇔pas
- 6⇔oublier
- 7⇔les passeports
Worksheet
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Negation in French is two elements e.g. ne … pas around the main verb expressing negative meaning.
- With ne … pas, ne … jamais and ne … rien in the past, put auxiliary verb (avoir or être) between ne and pas/jamais/rien.
- ‘Un’, ‘une’, ‘du’, ‘de la’ and ‘des’ change to ‘de’ after a negative e.g. Je ne mange pas de viande.
- In formal speech, liaison can often be heard after negative structures ne … pas, ne … plus, and ne … jamais.
- Using a range of negative structures with a range of tenses adds complexity to your writing.
Common misconception
When changing a positive to a negative statement, words like 'un', 'une', 'du', 'de la' and 'des' stay the same, e.g. 'je mange du gateau' - 'je ne mange pas du gâteau'.
When making a sentence negative, 'un', 'une', 'du', 'de la' and 'des' change to 'de', e.g. 'je mange du gâteau' - 'je ne mange pas de gâteau'.
Keywords
Negation - makes a word, phrase or sentence negative, typically using words like ‘not’ in English, or the two elements ne … pas in French
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