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Pronoms négatifs
French negative pronouns, also called indefinite negative pronouns, replace and simultaneously negate nouns. Negative pronouns may be the subject or object of the verb they’re used with.
Par exemple…
| Je ne connais personne ici. | I don’t know anyone here. | |
| Rien n’est sur la table. | Nothing is on the table. |
There are two different types of negative pronouns:
- Variable negative pronouns
- Invariable negative pronouns, explained here
Characteristics of invariable negative pronouns
- Replace a noun or indefinite pronoun
- Have two parts: ne plus another word
- May be a subject, direct object, or object of a preposition
- Do not require an antecedent
French invariable negative pronouns
| Pronoun | Translation | Negation of … | ||
| ne… personne | no one, not … anyone | on, quelqu’un, tout le monde | ||
| ne… rien | nothing, not … anything | quelque chose, tout |
When the negative pronoun is the subject, the main negative word goes first, followed by ne and then the verb.
Par exemple…
| Personne ne sait où aller. | No one knows where to go. | |
| Rien ne s’est passé. | Nothing happened. |
When the negative pronoun is the object of a preposition, ne precedes the verb and the main word follows the preposition.
Par exemple…
| Tu n’as parlé à personne. | You didn’t talk to anyone. | |
| Il n’a peur de rien. | He’s not afraid of anything. |
When serving as a direct object, ne still precedes the verb, but the word order is somewhat different for the two pronouns.
In simple tenses, personne and rien follow the verb.
Par exemple…
| Je ne vois personne. | I don’t see anyone. | |
| Je ne mange rien. | I’m not eating anything. |
In compound tenses, personne follows the past participle, but rien follows the conjugated auxiliary verb.
Par exemple…
| Je n’ai vu personne. | I didn’t see anyone. | |
| Je n’ai rien mangé. | I didn’t eat anything. |
Similarly, in dual-verb constructions, personne follows the infinitive, while rien follows the conjugated semi-auxiliary verb.
Par exemple…
| Je ne peux voir personne. | I can’t see anyone. | |
| Je ne vais rien manger. | I’m not going to eat anything. |
Related lessons
- Variable negative pronouns
- Negative adjectives
- Negative adverbs
- Negation lessons – PwLF super list
- Subjunctive with indefinite pronouns
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