A1 · Questions and negation
ne … pas
Two words, with the verb in between — and no «do».
The negation is ne in front of the verb and pas behind it. The two belong together like a pair of brackets, and the verb sits inside. English builds a negation by adding a verb — «I understand» becomes «I do not understand» — and French adds nothing: the verb it already has is simply enclosed.
Before a vowel ne becomes n': je n'ai pas.
In speech the ne drops out: je sais pas. Written down that is a mistake, but knowing it is the difference between following a conversation and not. English does something comparable in «don't» — the negation contracts and hides — except that «don't» is respectable in writing and je sais pas is not.
Die Form
| I do not speak | je ne parle pas |
| I do not have | je n’ai pas |
| no, not any | ne … pas de |
| not to do | ne pas + Grundform |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
ne goes before the conjugated verb, pas after it.
Je ne comprends pas.I do not understand.
Before a vowel ne becomes n’.
Elle n’est pas là.She is not there.
An object pronoun stays inside the bracket.
Je ne le sais pas.I do not know.
Before an infinitive both parts stand together.
Il préfère ne pas venir.He would rather not come.
Woran man es erkennt
- pas
- jamais
- rien
- personne
Beispielsätze
Je ne parle pas espagnol.I do not speak Spanish.
Nous ne sommes pas d’accord.We do not agree.
Il n’aime pas le poisson.He does not like fish.
Ne t’inquiète pas.Do not worry.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
Both halves belong to the sentence, and both go round the *conjugated* verb rather than round the participle. In the past it is je n'ai pas compris, not je n'ai compris pas — the bracket closes after ai, which is where English closes it too in «I have not understood». And writing only pas is writing the way people speak: understood, and wrong on the page.
No «do» is needed: the verb is simply put in brackets.
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