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Negative sentences in French
On this page, we'll look at how to form negative sentences in French where a "total negation" is being expressed. That is, the equivalent of sentences in English with n't: I won't..., I don't..., I didn't... etc.
Saying don't..., doesn't... in the present tense
The basic way to form a negative sentence in French is as follows:
We'll see various complications later, but here are some examples with the present tense:
I don't speak English
il ne travaille pas le samedi
he doesn't work on Saturdays
If the verb begins with a vowel, then ne shortens to n':
I don't like chips
Practise the negative
You can practise some simple negative sentences below. We'll use the following verbs and expressions:
to work on Mondays (etc)
regarder la télé
to watch TV
écouter la radio
to listen to the radio
parler anglais/français/allemand/espagnol
to speak English/French/German/Spanish
aimer le café/le chocolat
to like coffee/chocolate
To form the negative sentences using these expressions, you need to put ne...pas round the verb as indicated, plus make sure you get the correct form depending on the person. All of the verbs used are regular. If you prefer, you may want to revise the present tense of -er verbs first.
Next: the negative of the perfect tense
On the next page, we look at how to say I didn't..., she hasn't ...-ed etc, using the negative of the perfect tense.
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