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Mission: say no politely to a street survey

Negation. Wrap the verb in ne … pas, and change un, une, des to de after a negative.

FrenchA1 · About meAbout 5 min: 2 reading, 3 practiceUpdated

After this lesson you can
  • Make a sentence negative with ne … pas round the verb
  • Use n' before a vowel
  • Change un, une, des to de (d') after a negative
  • Answer a question with non, … ne … pas
About me: lesson 5 of 6
  1. A1 · About me
  2. Mission: introduce yourself to your new neighbour 5 min
  3. Mission: say who you are and what you have 5 min
  4. Mission: describe your family and your town 5 min
  5. Mission: tell a new colleague where you live and work 5 min
  6. Mission: say no politely to a street survey 5 min
  7. Mission: show a colleague photos of your family 6 min

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Level Level A1 (around the DELF A1 exam). Real French: answering a street survey with a polite no.

What it is

Your mission: a woman with a clipboard, Sandrine, stops you in the street for a survey: « Vous êtes marié(e) ? Vous avez des enfants ? Vous avez une voiture ? ». The answer to every question is no. Say it in a full sentence each time.

To say "not", put ne before the verb and pas after it:

  • Je parle allemand. → Je ne parle pas allemand. I don't speak German.
  • Elle est mariée. → Elle n'est pas mariée. She isn't married.

Before a vowel or a silent h, ne becomes n': je n'aime pas, il n'habite pas.

After a negative, un, une and des become de (d' before a vowel):

  • J'ai un frère. → Je n'ai pas de frère. I don't have a brother.
  • Il a des enfants. → Il n'a pas d'enfants. He doesn't have children.

Le, la, les do not change: Je n'aime pas le café. (I don't like coffee.)

Quick check

Tap an answer to check it.

  1. Where do ne and pas go?

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    ne before the verb, pas after it. ne + verb + pas.

Why it matters

Half the answers in a conversation about yourself can be "no": no, I'm not married; I don't have a car; I don't work at the weekend. The de rule is a common slip for learners, so it is worth getting right from the start.

Worked example

Answering Sandrine's survey:

  • Vous êtes marié ? — Non, je ne suis pas marié. (No, I'm not married.)
  • Vous avez des enfants ? — Non, je n'ai pas d'enfants. (No, I don't have any children.)
  • Vous travaillez le samedi ? — Non, je ne travaille pas le samedi. (No, I don't work on Saturdays.)
  • Vous aimez le sport ? — Non, je n'aime pas le sport. (No, I don't like sport. Le stays.)

Real French: in everyday speech, French speakers often drop ne: Je sais pas (I don't know), J'ai pas de voiture. You will hear it all the time; in writing, and when you want to sound careful, keep it.

Common mistake

Keeping un or des after a negative: wrong: Je n'ai pas un frère, wrong: Il n'a pas des enfants. After pas, use de: Je n'ai pas de frère, il n'a pas d'enfants.

But with être, nothing changes: Ce n'est pas un livre (It isn't a book).

Quick check

Tap an answer to check it.

  1. « Je n'ai pas … voiture. » (I don't have a car)

    Show answer

    de. un, une, des → de after a negative.

Key terms

ne … pas
not (round the verb)
n'
ne before a vowel sound
pas de
no, not any (replaces un, une, des)
non
no

Practise the key terms

Tap a card to turn it over. 4 cards.

FrontBack
ne … pasnot (round the verb)
n'ne before a vowel sound
pas deno, not any (replaces un, une, des)
nonno

Practice

Quick quiz

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  1. Make negative: « Nous habitons à Paris. »

    Show answer

    Nous n'habitons pas à Paris.. n' + habitons + pas.

  2. Make negative: « Elle a des amis à Rome. »

    Show answer

    Elle n'a pas d'amis à Rome.. n'a pas + d'amis.

Sort it

After « pas », does the article change?

  1. un frère

    Show answer

    Changes to de. pas de frère

  2. des enfants

    Show answer

    Changes to de. pas d'enfants

  3. le café (j'aime)

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    Stays. je n'aime pas le café

  4. la musique (j'aime)

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    Stays. je n'aime pas la musique

  5. une voiture

    Show answer

    Changes to de. pas de voiture

Build the sentence

Build "I don't work in Paris."

Show answer

Je ne travaille pas à Paris.. ne + verb + pas.

Practise speaking

Studyfern has no voice tools of its own. To practise out loud, copy this prompt into a voice-capable AI assistant and talk with it.

Mission role-play. You are Sandrine, a friendly French woman doing a street survey with a clipboard, at level A1. Speak slowly and clearly. Use only these words and patterns: vous êtes marié(e), vous avez des enfants, vous avez un frère, vous avez une sœur, vous avez une voiture, vous travaillez dans une banque, vous habitez à Paris, vous aimez le sport, vous parlez allemand, non, je ne … pas, je n'ai pas de, oui. Ask me yes-or-no questions one at a time; I will always answer no with a full sentence. After each answer, tell me what kind of mistake I made, if any, and let me try again; watch for un or des after pas. When I have answered no correctly to all 8 questions, say « Mission accomplie ! » and give me one tip. Keep every reply under 2 sentences. Ask 8 questions. Explain corrections in English.

Listen too. Listen to native speakers before and after: see the free listening and shadowing links.

Good to know. AI feedback on pronunciation is hit and miss, so check yourself against native recordings. Many assistants turn your speech into text first, so a vowel or liaison you got wrong may be silently “heard” as the right word. Don't share personal details: use a made-up name and town.

New to this? Read Practising speaking with an AI.

In short

  • ne + verb + pas; n' before a vowel.
  • un, une, des → de (d') after a negative.
  • le, la, les stay.
  • With être, articles don't change: ce n'est pas un livre.
  • Speech often drops ne; keep it in writing.

Mastery check

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Check yourself

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  1. Make negative: « Je suis français. »

    Show answer

    Je ne suis pas français.

  2. Make negative: « J'ai une voiture. »

    Show answer

    Je n'ai pas de voiture.

  3. Why does « le café » stay in « je n'aime pas le café »?

    Show answer

    Only un, une and des change to de; le, la, les stay.

Further reading