Using ne...pas to Make Negative Sentences in French

Key Grammar Points

1. Present Tense for Regular Verbs:

   • -er verbs: parler → je parle (I speak)
   • -ir verbs: finir → je finis (I finish)
   • -re verbs: vendre → je vends (I sell)

2. Helping Verbs in Compound Tenses:

   • avoir: J'ai mangé (I ate)
   • être: Je suis allé(e) (I went)

3. Adjective Agreement:

   • For boys or male objects: grand (tall)
   • For girls or female objects: grande (tall)
   • Plural for both: grands/grandes

How to Create Negative Sentences

To make a sentence negative, just put ne...pas around the verb:

• For an -er verb:

  • Positive: Je parle. (I speak.)
  • Negative: Je ne parle pas. (I do not speak.)

• For an -ir verb:

  • Positive: Il finit. (He finishes.)
  • Negative: Il ne finit pas. (He does not finish.)

• For the verb avoir:

  • Positive: J'ai un livre. (I have a book.)
  • Negative: Je n' ai pas de livre. (I do not have a book.)

How to Ask Questions

For questions, you can use two methods: inversion or intonation.

• Inversion:

  • Aimes-tu le chocolat? (Do you like chocolate?)

• Intonation:

  • Tu aimes le chocolat? (Do you like chocolate?)

Summary

To make negative sentences, remember to use ne...pas around the verb. Also, keep an eye on how subjects and verbs match, and don’t forget about adjectives. Happy learning!