How do you make a sentence negative in French?

 In French, if you want to make a statement or a sentence negative, you generally use a
pair of words, for example, ne … pas (meaning not). The verb goes in the middle.

ne … pas not
ne … rien nothing, not … anything
ne … personne nobody, no one, not … anybody, not … anyone
ne … jamais never, not … ever
ne … plus no longer, no more, not … any longer, not … any more

Je ne fume pas. I don't smoke.

Ne changez rien. Don't change anything.
Je ne vois personne. I can't see anybody.
Elle n’arrive jamais à l’heure. She never arrives on time.
Il ne travaille plus ici. He's no longer working here.

 ne changes to n’ in front of a word that starts with a vowel, most words beginning with h and
the French word y.

 In English, did is often used to make a statement negative.

I went to his party. → I didn’t go to his party.

We saw David at the weekend. → We didn’t see David at the weekend.

Note that the French verb faire is never used in this way.

 non plus is the equivalent of English neither in phrases like me neither, neither do I and
so on.
‘Je n’aime pas les hamburgers.’ – ‘Moi non plus.’ ‘I don’t like hamburgers.’ – ‘Me
neither.’
Il n’y va pas et moi non plus. He isn’t going and neither am I.

 The French word ne is missed out when negatives are used without a verb to answer a
question.
‘Qui a téléphoné?’ – ‘Personne.’ ‘Who rang?’ – ‘Nobody.’
‘Qu’est-ce que tu fais cet après-midi?’ – ‘Rien.’ ‘What are you doing this afternoon?’
–‘Nothing.’
 In everyday conversation French native speakers often miss out the word ne. Be careful
about doing this yourself in formal situations.
Je peux pas venir ce soir. I can't come tonight.
Il me l’a pas dit. He didnt tell me.

What is the word order with French negatives?

 Negative expressions in French ‘sandwich’ the verb in the present tense and in other
tenses that consist of just one word. ne goes before the verb and the other half of the
expression comes after the verb.
Il ne boit jamais d’alcool. He never drinks alcohol.
Il ne pleuvait pas. It wasn't raining.

 In the perfect tense and other tenses that consist of two or more words such as the
pluperfect, there are two possibilities for word order:

 ne … pas, ne … rien, ne … plus and ne … jamais follow the pattern:

 ne (n’) + avoir or être + pas/rien/plus/jamais + past participle

Elle n’a pas fait ses devoirs. She hasn't done her homework.
Je n’ai rien dit. I didn't say anything.
Pierre n’est pas encore arrivé. Pierre isn't here yet.

 ne … personne follows the pattern:

ne (n’) + avoir + past participle + personne

Je n’ai vu personne. I didn't see anybody.

 A negative sentence may also contain a pronoun such as te, le, lui and so on that is the
direct or indirect object of the verb, or a reflexive pronoun. If so, ne comes before the
pronoun.
Je ne t’entends pas. I can't hear you.
Ne lui parle pas! Don't speak to him/her!
Tu ne te souviens pas de lui? Don't you remember him
?Il ne se lève jamais avant midi. He never gets up before midday.

 When a verb is in the infinitive, ne … pas, ne … rien, ne … plus and ne … jamais

come together before the infinitive.
Il essayait de ne pas rire. He was trying not to laugh.
J’ai peur de ne pas réussir. I'm afraid of not succeeding.
  After these negative expressions, un, une and des (the indefinite article) and du, de la,
de l’ and des (the partitive article) change to de.
Il ne reste plus de biscuits. There aren't any biscuits left.

What is the difference between 'non' and 'pas' in French?

 non (meaning no) is the usual negative answer to a question in French. It can also
correspond to not in English.
Tu veux nous accompagner?’ – ‘Non, merci.’ ‘Do you want to come with us?’ – ‘No
thanks.’
Tu viens ou non? Are you coming or not?J’espère que non. I hope not.

 pas is generally used in French when a distinction is being made, or for emphasis. It, too,
often corresponds to not in English.
‘Qui veut m’aider?’ – ‘Pas moi!’ ‘Who wants to help me?’ – ‘Not me!’
‘Est-il de retour?‘ – ‘Pas encore.’ ‘Is he back?’ – ‘Not yet.’
‘Tu as froid?’ – ‘Pas du tout.’ ‘Are you cold?’ – ‘Not at all.’
Pas question! No way!