Making Negative Sentences with "ne...pas"

In French, if you want to say that something is not happening, you can make a sentence negative by using "ne" and "pas" around the verb.

Example:

• Positive Sentence: Je mange une pomme. (I eat an apple.)
• Negative Sentence: Je ne mange pas de pomme. (I do not eat an apple.)

Important Points to Remember:

1. Present Tense Verbs:

   • Regular -er verbs: aimer (to like) → Je n'aime pas. (I do not like.)
   • Regular -ir verbs: finir (to finish) → Je ne finis pas. (I do not finish.)
   • Regular -re verbs: vendre (to sell) → Je ne vends pas. (I do not sell.)

2. Irregular Verbs:

   • Être (to be): Je ne suis pas. (I am not.)
   • Avoir (to have): Je n'ai pas. (I do not have.)
   • Aller (to go): Je ne vais pas. (I do not go.)
   • Faire (to do/make): Je ne fais pas. (I do not do/make.)

3. Articles:

   • In negative sentences, use "de" instead of "un" or "une."
   • Example: Je n'ai pas de livre. (I do not have a book.)

Practice

Can you change these sentences to negative?

1. Il va à l'école. (He goes to school.) →
2. Nous mangeons du gâteau. (We eat cake.) →

Learning how to make negative sentences is very important for speaking French clearly!