Basic negation with ne ... pas

Kurz erklärt

To make a basic French sentence negative, place ne before the conjugated verb and pas after it. Together, ne … pas usually means “not.” Before a vowel sound or silent h, ne becomes n’. In careful speech and standard writing, use both parts of the negative.

Bildung

subject + ne/n’ + conjugated verb + pas + rest of sentence

Verwendung

• Use ne … pas to say that an action, fact, or state is not true.
• Put object pronouns before the verb, inside the negative pair: Je ne le connais pas.
• With a compound tense, ne … pas surrounds the conjugated auxiliary: Je n’ai pas mangé.

Beispiele

• Je ne travaille pas le dimanche. — I don’t work on Sundays.
• Elle n’aime pas le café. — She doesn’t like coffee.
• Nous ne sommes pas prêts. — We aren’t ready.
• Je n’ai pas mangé. — I haven’t eaten.

Typischer Fehler

❌ Je pas parle français.

✅ Je ne parle pas français.

Unlike English “not,” pas does not go directly before the conjugated verb. Standard French places ne before the verb and pas after it.

Merke

The conjugated verb sits between ne and pas. Change ne to n’ before a vowel sound or silent h.