The basic negative structure in French is ne…pas, sandwiched around the verb. For example, “Je ne mange pas” translates to “I do not eat.” The words ‘ne’ and ‘pas’ can contract with the following word if it starts with a vowel or a mute h, for instance, “Je n’aime pas” means “I do not like.” There are other negative expressions in French: ne…jamais (never), ne…plus (no more), ne…rien (nothing), and ne…personne (nobody). They all follow the same structure as ne…pas. In spoken French, the ‘ne’ part of the negative can be often dropped. For instance, “Je sais pas.”
Section: Interrogative Forms of Verbs
The basic form of a question in French can simply be the declarative sentence with a rising intonation. For example, “Tu aimes le chocolat ?” (You like chocolate?). Another way to form a question in French is by using inversion, where the verb and subject switch places. For instance, “Aimez-vous le chocolat ?” (Do you like chocolate?) To ask a question, the phrase “est-ce que” can also be used at the start of a sentence. For example: “Est-ce que tu aimes le chocolat ?” (Do you like chocolate?)
Section: Negative-Interrogative Forms of Verbs
The negative and interrogative forms can be combined in French, where ne…pas is used along with either inversion or “est-ce que”. For instance, “N’aimes-tu pas le chocolat ?” (Don’t you like chocolate?), or “Est-ce que tu n’aimes pas le chocolat ?” using “est-ce que”.
Section: Common Mistakes with Negative and Interrogative Forms
An important point to remember is that the “ne…pas” structure should always come around the verb, even in questions. The word ne does not disappear in formal written French, even if often dropped in informal spoken language. Always include it in your written work. The contraction of ‘ne’ and ‘pas’ with the following word requires an apostrophe, not a hyphen. Be aware of where to place the subject and verb in interrogative sentences. The inversion (verb-subject) is commonly used in more formal French. When using “est-ce que”, the sentence structure is similar to a statement with the subject coming before the verb.