Not Bad! French Negative Adverbs Say This and More

Making sentences negative in French is a bit different than in English, due to the two-part negative adverb and the sometimes difficult placement. Normally, ne...pas is the first negative adverb that we learn. But there are actually many negative adverbs  constructed just like it, so once you understand ne... pas, you can make just about any sentence negative. Using Ne...Pas To make a sentence or question negative, place ne in front of the conjugated verb and pas (or one of the other negative adverbs) after it. Ne...pas translates roughly as not.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je suis riche Je ne suis pas riche.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Im rich Im not rich.  Ã‚  Ã‚  ÃƒÅ tes-vous fatiguà ©Ã‚  ?   Nà ªtes-vous pas fatiguà ©Ã‚  ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Are you tired?   Arent you tired?In compound verbs and dual-verb constructions, the negative adverbs surround the conjugated verb (except for nulle part, which follows the main verb).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je nai pas à ©tudià ©.  Ã‚  Ã‚  I didnt study.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nous naurions pas su.  Ã‚  Ã‚  We wouldnt have known.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il ne sera pas arrivà ©.  Ã‚  Ã‚  He wont have arrived.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tu navais pas parlà ©Ã‚  ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  You hadnt spoken?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il ne veut pas skier.  Ã‚  Ã‚  He doesnt want to ski.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je ne peux pas y aller.  Ã‚  Ã‚  I cant go there.When there is an indefinite article or partitive article in a negative construction, the article changes to de, meaning (not) any:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai une pomme Je nai pas de pomme.  Ã‚  Ã‚  I have an apple I dont have any apples. Using  Ne and an Alternative to Pas Ne...pas  is the most  common French negative adverb, but there are a number of others that follow the same rules of grammar. ne...pas encore not yet Il nest pas encore arriv. He has not arrived yet. ne...pas toujours not always Je ne mange pas toujours ici. I dont always eat here. ne...pas du tout not at all Je naime pas du tout les pinards. I dont like spinach at all. ne...pas non plus neither, not either Je naime pas non plus les oignons. I dont like onions either. ne...aucunement not at all, in no way Il nest aucunement blmer. He is in no way to blame. ne...gure hardly, barely, scarcely Il ny a gure de monde. Theres hardly anyone there. ne...jamais never Nous ne voyageons jamais. We never travel. ne...nullement not at all Il ne veut nullement venir. He doesnt want to come at all. ne...nulle part nowhere Je ne lai trouv nulle part. I couldnt find it anywhere. ne...point not (formal/literary equivalent of ne...pas) Je ne te hais point. I dont hate you. ne...plus no more, not anymore Vous ny travaillez plus. You dont work there anymore. ne...que only Il ny a que deux chiens. There are only two dogs. Using Pas  Without Ne The French negative adverb  pas  is often used together with  ne, but  pas  can also be used all by itself for various reasons.   Pas  can be used without  ne  to negate an adjective, adverb, noun, or pronoun. But it can also be used to negate a verb. Note that this use of  pas  alone is somewhat informal. In most cases, you should be able to construct a sentence using  ne...pas  that means the same thing. Pas   Adjective   Ã‚  Ã‚  Il doit à ªtre ravi  ! Pas ravi, mais content, oui.     He must be delighted! Not delighted, but (yes, he is) happy.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cest un  homme  pas  sympathique.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hes not a nice  man.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pas  gentil, à §a.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thats not nice.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pas  possible  !  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thats not possible! Pas   Adverb   Ã‚  Ã‚  Tu en  veux  ?  Oui,  mais  pas beaucoup.     Do you want some? Yes, but not a lot.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ãƒâ€¡a  va  ?  Pas  mal.     How are you? Not bad.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pourquoi  pas  ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Why not?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pas  comme  Ãƒ §a  !  Ã‚  Ã‚  Not like that!  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pas si  vite  !  Ã‚  Ã‚  Not so fast!  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pas  souvent, pas encore, pas  trop  Ã‚  Ã‚  Not often; not yet; not too much Pas   Noun   Ã‚  Ã‚  Elle vient mercredi  ? Non, pas mercredi. Jeudi.     Is she coming on Wednesday? No, not Wednesday. Thursday.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je veux deux bananes. Pas de bananes aujourdhui.     I want two bananas. No bananas today.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pas de  problà ¨me  !  Ã‚  Ã‚  No problem! Pas   Pronoun      Qui  veut  nous  aider  ?  Pas  moi  !     Who wants to help us? Not me!  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tu as  faim  ?  Pas du  tout  !  Ã‚  Ã‚  Are you hungry?  Not  at all!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ah  non, pas  Ãƒ §a  !  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oh no, not that! Pas   Verb      Je ne sais pas. Je sais pas.   Or contractions that are even more colloquial such as:     Ã‚  Ã‚  Jsais pas,  Sais pas,  and even  Chais pas.  Ã‚  Ã‚  I dont know. Pas  can also be used to ask for confirmation:      Tu  viens, ou  pas  ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Are you coming or not?   Ã‚  Je laime bien, pas toi  ?  Ã‚  I really like it, dont you?      Pas vrai  ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Right? or  Isnt that true? Note:  Pas  can also be a noun meaning step, which is found in many  French expressions.