How do you form a negative sentence in the present tense?

The negative, meaning 'not', is made up of the two words ne and pas which go either side of the verb in the present tense. 

For example: 'Je ne vois pas le chien' - 'I don't see the dog'.

The ne becomes n'​ when the verb begins with a vowel or silent h, for example 'Je n'aime pas' (I don't like).

There are other negative constructions which work like ne...pas:

ne...jamais - never - eg. Je ne bois jamais du lait (I never drink milk)

ne...plus - no longer/not anymore - eg. Elle ne chante plus (She doesn't sing anymore)

ne...personne - nobody - eg. Il n'y a personne dans la maison (There is nobody in the house)

ne...rien - nothing/not anything - eg. Je ne fais rien ce soir (I'm not doing anything this evening)

ne...que - only - eg. Il ne parle que l'anglais (He only speaks English)

ne...ni...ni - neither, nor - eg. Je n'aime ni les chats ni les lapins (I like neither cats nor rabbits)