Ne… jamais, personne, rien (never, nobody, nothing): the different negations in French

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Ne… jamais, personne, rien (never, nobody, nothing): the different negations

Reminder: To make a sentence negative, we use ne… pas.

I am happy. → I am not happy.

Here are more negative forms:

  • ne… rien (nothing, not anything) is the opposite of quelque chose (something).

- Are you eating anything? - No, I'm not eating anything.

  • ne… personne (no one, nobody) is the opposite of quelqu'un (someone).

- Are you waiting for someone? - No, I'm not waiting for anyone.

  • ne… jamais (never) indicates that an action does not happen. It is the opposite of toujours (always) or souvent (often).

I always drink coffee in the morning. → I never drink coffee in the morning.

  • ne… plus (no longer, not anymore) indicates an action that has stopped. It is the opposite of encore (still).

- Do you still smoke? - No, I don't smoke anymore.

Note: In a negative sentence, the s in plus is silent.

I no longer sleep.

Exercise 1

Complete the sentences in the negative form using the opposite of the underlined words. Drag the correct words into the blanks.

 

Anna travaille encore. → Anna ne travaille .

 

Théo veut boire quelque chose. → Théo ne veut boire.

 

Nadia cherche quelqu'un. → Nadia ne cherche .

Complete the sentences in the negative form using the opposite of the underlined words. Drag the correct words into the blanks.

 

Anna travaille encore. → Anna ne travaille plus 1.

 

Théo veut boire quelque chose. → Théo ne veut rien 2 boire.

 

Nadia cherche quelqu'un. → Nadia ne cherche personne 3.
1 plus :

Anna travaille encore. (Anna is still working.) → Anna ne travaille plus. (Anna is no longer working.) Ne… plus (no longer, not anymore) is the opposite of encore (still). Note that the final -s in plus is silent. Another example: - Tu fumes encore ? - Non, je ne fume plus. (- Do you still smoke? - No, I don't anymore.)

2 rien :

Théo veut boire quelque chose. → Théo ne veut rien boire. (Théo wants to drink something. → Théo doesn't want to drink anything.) Rien (nothing, anything in a negative sentence) is the opposite of quelque chose (something). Another example: - Tu vois quelque chose ? - Non, je ne vois rien. (- Do you see anything? - No, I don't see anything.)

3 personne :

Nadia cherche quelqu'un. (Nadia is looking for someone.) → Nadia ne cherche personne. (Nadia isn't looking for anyone.) Personne (no one, anyone) is the opposite of quelqu'un (someone). Another example: - Tu connais quelqu'un ici ? (Do you know anyone here?) - Non, je ne connais personne. (No, I don't know anyone.)

Exercise 2

Put the following sentences in the negative form. Drag the correct words into the blanks.

Jojo dort encore. → Jojo .

 

Je veux quelque chose. → Je . Il pleut souvent → Il .

Put the following sentences in the negative form. Drag the correct words into the blanks.

Jojo dort encore. → Jojo ne dort plus 1.

 

Je veux quelque chose. → Je ne veux rien 2. Il pleut souvent → Il ne pleut jamais 3.
1 ne dort plus :

Jojo dort encore. → Jojo ne dort plus. (Jojo is still sleeping. → Jojo is no longer sleeping.) With ne…plus (no longer, not anymore), we express that an action has stopped — the opposite of encore (still). Example: elle ne veut plus le voir (she no longer wants to see him).

2 ne veux rien :

Je veux quelque chose. → Je ne veux rien. (I want something. → I don't want anything.), with ne + verb (here, vouloir (to want)) + rien (nothing/anything). Another example: Betty dit quelque chose → Betty ne dit rien. (Betty says something → Betty doesn't say anything.)

3 ne pleut jamais :

Il pleut souvent (It often rains) → Il ne pleut jamais (It never rains), with ne + verb (here, pleut) + jamais, the negative of souvent (often). Another example: - Max fait souvent du vélo ? - Non, il ne fait jamais de vélo. (- Does Max often ride his bike? - No, he never rides his bike.)

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