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Which French negative? 10 questions on never, not yet and nobody

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Choose the French negative for ten everyday messages: no longer, not yet, nothing, nobody, none, not all and only. Every answer explains the difference.

In short

Ne…plus means no longer; ne…pas encore means not yet; ne…jamais means never. Choose rien for nothing, personne for nobody and aucun/aucune before a noun. Each choice changes the message.

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A reader at a library table with several closed books still waiting beside one open book.
An unfinished reading task gives context to pas encore. Illustration: Atelier

Choose the reply that matches the whole situation. Keep ne or n’ in these written answers. In conversation, you will often hear it dropped: Je sais pas. The other negative word still carries the meaning.

How do you choose the right French negative?

Three messages that say different things
FrenchMeaning
Je n’ai lu aucun message.I read no messages.
Je n’ai pas lu tous les messages.I did not read all the messages.
Je n’ai lu que deux messages.I only read two messages.

Pas tous leaves the exact number open. In question 8, the situation tells you that three were read; the negative sentence itself simply says the set was not completed. Ne…que deux supplies an exact limit. Keep that difference when you summarise someone’s reply.

  1. Question 1No account needed
    You used this app last year and have stopped using it. What do you say?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Je n’utilise plus cette application.. Plus marks a change from using it before to no longer using it now.

  2. Question 2No account needed
    You are waiting for a reply. None has arrived so far.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Je n’ai pas encore reçu de réponse.. Pas encore describes the situation up to now: the awaited reply has not arrived yet.

  3. Question 3No account needed
    You do not post videos at any time. Complete the sentence.Je ne publie ___ de vidéos.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    jamais. Jamais means never. Plus would suggest you used to post videos.

  4. Question 4No account needed
    You checked your inbox. There are zero new messages.Je n’ai ___ nouveau message.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    aucun. Aucun agrees with masculine singular message. It names the category with a noun.

  5. Question 5No account needed
    You called at 10 am. Nobody answered.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Personne n’a répondu.. Personne is the subject: nobody answered. It is followed by n’a, with no pas.

  6. Question 6No account needed
    You found nothing in the discussion. Choose the correct word order.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Je n’ai rien trouvé.. In this compound tense, rien goes before the past participle: je n’ai rien trouvé.

  7. Question 7No account needed
    You saw nobody at the meeting. Choose the correct sentence.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Je n’ai vu personne.. Personne follows the past participle here: je n’ai vu personne.

  8. Question 8No account needed
    There were five messages. You read three. Which sentence fits?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Je n’ai pas lu tous les messages.. Reading three out of five means you did not read them all. Aucun would mean zero.

  9. Question 9No account needed
    You read exactly two messages. Choose the sentence meaning “I only read two messages”.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Je n’ai lu que deux messages.. Ne…que restricts the amount to two. It gives a positive amount: you did read two.

  10. Question 10No account needed
    You use neither this site nor that app.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Je n’utilise ni ce site ni cette application.. Ni…ni links the two excluded items. Here it replaces pas after ne.

Read your answer back

  • I kept the earlier stage when I chose plus.
  • I used pas encore for an event still awaited.
  • I distinguished a person, a thing and a named category.
  • I kept zero, not all and only two separate.

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