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Expletive ne
Don’t worry, it’s not a swear word. In French, explétif is a grammatical term
Et je cite…
qui est usité sans nécessité pour le sens ou la syntaxe d’une phrase. (Source :
Le Petit Robert)
"which is used without being needed for the meaning or syntax of a sentence."
(This meaning also exists in English)
So the ne explétif does not add any meaning – negative or otherwise – to the sentence; it’s just there to draw attention to what precedes it. It’s formal and optional, and used after certain verbs and expressions that have a negative meaning, in either sense of the word: negative as in bad (fear, warning) or negative as in negated (denial, doubt).
Par exemple…
| Évitez qu’il ne vous voie. | Avoid letting him see you. | |
| Avant que vous ne preniez une décision … | Before you make a decision … | |
| J’ai moins de travail que vous n’en avez. | I have less work than you (do). | |
| Rarement n’ai-je vu un tel spectacle. | I’ve rarely seen such a spectacle. |
The most important thing to remember is that the ne explétif does not negate the verb it precedes; for that, you need pas.
En comparaison…
| J’ai peur qu’il ne le fasse. | I’m afraid he’ll do it. | |
| vs | ||
| J’ai peur qu’il ne le fasse pas. | I’m afraid he won’t do it. |
Confused by le in these examples? It’s a neuter object pronoun.
Complete list of ne explétif triggers
1) Verbs and expressions of doubt, fear, and prevention
- appréhender que – to dread, fear that
- avoir peur que – to be afraid that
- contester que* – to dispute that
- craindre que – to fear that
- douter que* – to doubt that
- empêcher que – to prevent that
- éviter que – to avoid that
- s’en falloir que – to almost (do/happen)
- il dépend de (stressed or indefinite pronoun) que* – it depends on (him, this, etc) whether
- il y a un danger que – there’s a danger that
- il y a un risque que – there’s a risk that
- mettre en doute que* – to question whether
- nier que* – to deny that
- prendre garde que – to be careful, to watch out that
- redouter que – to dread that
- risquer que – to risk, be at risk that
- tenir à ce que* – to be anxious that, to insist that
- trembler que – to be terrified that
À noter : These all require the subjunctive.
* These call for the ne explétif only in negative or interrogative constructions.
2) Conjunctive phrases
- à moins que – unless
- avant que – before
- de crainte que – for fear that
- de peur que – for fear that
- plutôt que – rather than, sooner than
- sans que** – without
These phrases all require the subjunctive as well.
** Needs ne explétif only when the verb before sans que is negated.
3) Comparatives of inequality
- autre que – other than
- autrement que – differently than
- meilleur que – better than
- mieux que – better than
- le moindre que – the least that
- moins que – less than
- pire que – worse than
- plus que – more than
These might require the subjunctive and may be used with a neuter object pronoun (le).
4) Rarement, when it’s at the beginning of a sentence
En aparté : There’s another ne that lives without pas, which I call the ne littéraire.
There are also many ways to use pas without ne.
Related lessons
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