Skip to main content
All guides
Sentence structureA1 · Beginner

Negation with ne… pas

To make a sentence negative, French wraps the verb in two parts: ne before the verb and pas after it.\n\nJe parle → *Je ne parle pas*.\n\nBefore a vowel or silent h, ne becomes n': *Je n'aime pas. In casual speech the ne is often dropped (je sais pas*), but in writing and exams you keep both parts.

Examples

FrenchEnglish
Je ne comprends pas.I don't understand.
Elle n'aime pas le café.She doesn't like coffee.
Nous ne sommes pas prêts.We are not ready.

Create a free account to practise this

Reading it once isn't enough. Inside Bonjour you drill negation with ne… pas with an auto-grading micro-quiz, and every mistake turns into a flashcard until it sticks.

  • Free plan, no card
  • Instant AI feedback
  • CLB progress tracking

Prefer to try before signing up? Take the free sample exam