Spot the mistake: word order in French negatives
Je pas ai mangé, il n'a mangé pas, nous n'avons pas rien vu: tap the misplaced words in eight negative sentences and learn where ne… pas goes.
- A2
- 8 sentences
- Tap the wrong word
- Learn this in the A2 notebook →
In short
Ne… pas wraps the conjugated verb: je ne mange pas. In the passé composé it wraps the auxiliary: je n'ai pas mangé. Rien and jamais follow the same pattern, but personne goes after the past participle: je n'ai vu personne. Never combine pas with rien or personne.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learnRed watch out
Tap the word that's wrong in each sentence.
I didn't eat at lunchtime.
Ne… pas wraps the auxiliary: je n'ai pas mangé.
He didn't eat his soup.
Pas comes before the past participle.
She never comes on Mondays.
Jamais follows the conjugated verb.
We didn't see anything.
Rien replaces pas: no double negative.
I didn't see anyone in the street.
Personne alone, after the participle.
I don't like spinach.
Ne elides before a vowel.
She doesn't talk to her brother any more.
Plus replaces pas: ne… plus.
I've never been to Rome.
Jamais goes between the auxiliary and the participle.
Where do negative words go in French?
| Tense | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| present | ne + verb + pas | je ne sais pas |
| passé composé | ne + aux. + pas + participle | je n'ai pas vu |
| infinitive | ne pas + infinitive | ne pas toucher |
| personne | after the participle | je n'ai vu personne |
In casual speech, ne often disappears (j'ai pas mangé), so learners hear only pas. In writing, keep ne. With an infinitive, both words go together before the verb: Il m'a dit de ne pas attendre.
- Amie
Tu as visité Rome finalement ?
Did you visit Rome in the end?
- Toi
Non, je n'y suis jamais allé. On n'a pas eu le temps.
No, I've never been. We didn't have time.
- Amie
Dommage ! Et tu n'as rien acheté ?
Shame! And you didn't buy anything?