How do I form a negative construction in French?

In French, a negative is formed with the words "ne" and "pas". These are placed either side of the main verb of the sentence, 'sandwiching' it. For example the sentence "Je sais" - "I know" can be made negative by placing "ne" and "pas" either side of the verb "sais", which results in the sentence "Je ne sais pas", meaning "I don't know".
The same rule applies to sentences that contain more than one verb, such as "J'ai mangé" - "I have eaten", but the first verb needs to be 'sandwiched'. Therefore, we just need to add "ne" and "pas" to "ai", which creates "Je n'ai pas mangé", meaning "I have not eaten".
We can also create other negative meanings using the same 'sandwiching' method but with other pairs of words, such as "ne" and "plus" for "no longer" and "ne" and "guère".

OE
Answered by Owen E. French tutor

2943 Views

See similar French GCSE tutors

Related French GCSE answers

All answers ▸

How is the perfect tense formed with AVOIR?


Tu participes à un événement sportif au Canada. Tu postes cette photo (3 friends, one a basketballer) sur des médias sociaux pour tes amis. Écris une description de la photo et exprime ton opinion sur le sport. Écris 20–30 mots environ en français.


What is the difference between the past and the imperfect tense?


When do I use the Imperfect tense instead of the Perfect tense?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning