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Négation formelle
French has three negative constructions that are reserved for formal (usually written) French like literature and historical accounts.
1) Ne … point
In normal French, "not" is equivalent to the negative adverb ne … pas. In formal French, it’s ne … point.
Par exemple…
Le château tombe en ruines.![]() |
The castle is falling into ruin.![]() |
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Nous sommes prĂŞts.![]() |
We’re ready.![]() |
In all other respects, ne … point is used exactly like ne … pas.
a) Ne precedes the verb and point follows it. When the verb is inverted, point follows the subject pronoun.
b) Whereas in English negation, the helping verb "do" must be added to most verbs (learn more), in French, if there’s one verb in the affirmative, there’s just one verb in the negative.
Likewise, if there are two verbs in the affirmative, as in compound tenses/moods and semi-auxiliary verb constructions, there are two in the negative. Ne and point go around the first (conjugated) verb, followed by the past participle or infinitive.
Il a mangé.![]() |
He’s eaten.![]() |
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Voulez-vous sortir ?![]() |
Do you want to go out?![]() |
However, when there’s just an infinitive being negated, ne and point stay together in front of it.
Je vous ai dit de manger.![]() |
I told you to eat.![]() |
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Il espère voir la château.![]() |
He hopes to see the castle.![]() |
When a partitive or indefinite article is negated, that article is replaced by de, similar to how English changes "some" to "any."
Je veux du pain.![]() |
I want some bread.![]() |
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Avez-vous un stylo ?![]() |
Do you have a pen?![]() |
2) Ne littéraire
Certain verbs and constructions can be made negative with just ne – the inclusion of point or some other negative word is not required – learn more.
3) Ne explétif
Unlike ne … point and the ne littĂ©raire, which actually negate verbs, the ne explĂ©tif does not add any meaning – negative or otherwise – to the sentence; it’s just there to draw attention to what precedes it – learn more.
Related lessons
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