Complex Negation in French

What is complex negation?

Complex negation is different from simple negative sentences because it uses a different negation pattern. While simple negative sentences usually use ne…pas, ne...plus, ne...jamais etc., complex negative sentences use structures such as ne…ni…ni… or ne…que. These forms let us link several parts of a sentence together. They add nuance and help express more precise ideas than simple negation.

– As-tu bouclé ta valise ?

– Non, je ne trouve ni mon passeport ni mon porte-monnaie.

– Je crains que tu ne puisses monter dans l’avion si tu ne les retrouves pas à temps.

– Tu ne m’aides guère avec ces remarques…

– Évitons que la situation ne se termine en dispute. Cherchons ensemble !

Simple or complex negation?

Before we look at complex negative sentences, let’s quickly review simple negative sentences.

A simple negative sentence uses ne...pas or another basic pair such as ne…jamais, ne…plus, etc. These two parts go around the verb in simple tenses (présent, imparfait, etc.) or around the auxiliary verb in compound tenses (passé composé, futur antérieur, etc.).

Examples:
Je ne trouve pas mon passeport. (présent)I can’t find my passport.
Nous n’avons pas retrouvé mon porte-monnaie. (passé composé)We haven’t found my wallet.

What is a complex negation?

Some negative patterns are more complicated than ne...pas. For example:

    • ne…ni…ni… (neither…nor…nor...)
    • ne…que (only)
    • The expletive ne (a ne that doesn’t express real negation)

However, these complex negations don’t automatically make the sentence a complex sentence in the grammatical sense.

A sentence with a complex negation can still be a simple sentence if it has only one conjugated verb:

Example:
Je ne trouve ni mon passeport ni mon porte-monnaie.I can’t find either my passport or my wallet.
only one verb: trouver → simple sentence with a complex negation

What is a complex sentence?

A complex sentence has more than one clause, so more than one conjugated verb. This is not connected to the type of negation used.

Example:
Évitons que la situation ne se termine en dispute.Let’s avoid the situation ending in an argument.
two verbs: éviter and se terminer → complex sentence with a complex negation (the expletive ne)

The complex negation ne…ni…ni…

The structure ne…ni…ni… (neither...nor...) lets us connect different parts of the negative sentence.

Examples:
Elle ne trouve ni son passeport ni son portemonnaie.She can find neither her passport or her purse.
Un jour, mes cousines ne trouvaient ni leur sac, ni leur chien, ni leur chemin.One day, my cousins couldn’t find their bag, their dog or their way.

How to use ne…ni…ni…

Ne…ni…ni… replaces the conjunctions et and ou, and we also have to remove certain words:

  • Indefinite articles (un, une, de) and partitive articles (du, de la, des)
    Example:
    As-tu un maillot de bain, de la crème solaire et des lunettes de soleil ?Do you have a swimsuit, sun cream and sunglasses?
    → Je n’ai ni maillot de bain, ni crème solaire, ni lunettes de soleil.I’ve got neither a swimsuit nor sun cream nor sunglasses.
    We can add a comma between ni but it’s not obligatory.

However, we keep certain words with this structure:

  • Definite articles (le, la, les), possessive determiners (mon, ma, mes, etc.), demonstrative determiners (ce, cet, cette, ces) and prepositions
    Example:
    Préfères-tu la mer ou les montagnes ?Do you prefer the sea or the mountains?
    → Je n’aime ni la mer, ni les montagnes.I like neither the sea nor the mountains.

Next, you need to distinguish between sentences with the same verb repeated and those with different verbs.

  • When the same verb appears in each part, we use the form ne…ni…ni…
    Example :
    Elle n’a pas cherché son passeport dans la cuisine et elle n’a pas cherché son passeport dans la salle de bain.She didn’t look for her passport in the kitchen and she didn’t look for it in the bathroom.
    → Elle ne l’a ni cherché dans la cuisine, ni dans la salle de bain.She looked for it neither in the kitchen nor in the bathroom.
  • When there are different verbs, we use the form ne…ni… ni ne…
    Example:
    Nous ne partirons pas en vacances et nous ne nagerons pas dans la mer et nous ne nous baladerons pas en montagne.We won’t go on holiday, we won’t swim in the sea and we won’t go for a walk in the mountains.
    → Nous ne partirons ni en vacances, ni ne nagerons dans la mer, ni ne nous baladerons en montagne.We’ll go neither on holiday, nor swim in the sea, nor walk in the mountains.
    We must add ne before each new verb.

Note

Sometimes de or du aren’t articles but prepositions in fixed expressions and so we have to keep them.

Examples:
Vous n’aurez besoin ni de valise ni de sac à dos.You’ll need neither a suitcase nor a rucksack.
The verbal expression avoir besoin de is used → de is a preposition, not an indefinite article, so it must stay.
Je ne joue ni du piano ni du violon.I play neither the piano nor the violin.
The verbal expression jouer de qqch is used → du = de (preposition) + le (definite article), so it must stay.

How to use the inverted form ni…ni…ne…

Sometimes the structure is reversed and the ni come before ne. This puts more emphasis on the elements being negated and is usually used with subjects.

Example:
Ni moi ni mon amie ne pourrons partir en vacances.Neither I nor my friend will be able to go on holiday.

When we invert for emphasis, we must use a stressed pronoun (moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles) instead of a normal subject pronoun (je, tu, il, etc.). Here is another example:

Example:
Ni toi ni moi ne monterons à bord de l’avion.Neither you nor I will board the plane.
→ Ni tu ni je ne monterons à bord de l’avion.

Informal language

In spoken, informal French, people often use structures that don’t match the formal written rules and are not grammatically correct. Here are a few:

  • Omitting ne
    Example:
    Je trouve pas mon passeport.I can’t find my passport.
  • Using the form ne pas...ni
    Example:
    Je ne trouve pas mon passeport, ni mon porte-monnaie.I can’t find my passport, not my wallet.
  • Using ne…ni…ni… with different verbs but without repeating ni
    Example:
    Nous ne partirons ni en vacances, ni nagerons dans la mer, ni nous baladerons en montagne.We’ll go neither on holiday, nor swim in the sea, nor walk in the mountains.

Real negation or expletive ne?

Sometimes you’ll find ne on its own, without the second part of the negation like pas, plus, jamais, etc. Here we must distinguish between real negation and the ne explétif (expletive ne).

Real negation

As we learnt above, real negation shows that something doesn’t exist, doesn’t happen, or isn’t present.

You can also make a negative sentence without using pas, plus, jamais, etc. Instead, the subject or object of the sentence is already a negative word, such as personne, rien, aucun or jamais. These words are placed at the beginning of the sentence or just before ne.

  • personne → no one, nobody

    Example:
    Je pense que personne ne trouvera mon passeport.I think no one will find my passport.
    opposite: quelqu’un, tout le monde

  • rien → nothing

    Example:
    Rien ne me laisse croire qu’on retrouvera mon passeport à temps.Nothing makes me believe we’ll find my passport in time.
    opposite: un, plusieurs

  • aucun(e) → none/not any

    Example:
    J’ai cherché partout, mais aucun indice ne me permet de retrouver le document.I’ve looked everywhere, but no clue helps me find the document.
    opposite: un, plusieurs

  • jamais → never

    Example:
    Jamais n’ai-je été aussi stressée avant un départ.Never have I been so stressed before a trip.
    opposite: toujours, parfois
    When jamais is at the start of the sentence, the verb and subject invert if the subject is a pronoun (here: ai‑je).

The expletive ne

The expletive ne (ne explétif) doesn’t create real negation. It appears in certain sentences after verbs or expressions that show fear, worry, doubt or similar ideas. In these cases, the ne is mainly stylistic: it doesn’t change the meaning of the sentence, and we can usually remove it without affecting the sense.

Examples:
Je crains qu’il ne pleuve.I’m afraid it might rain.
Évitons que la situation ne se termine en dispute.Let’s avoid the situation ending in an argument.

Idiomatic expressions with ne

French also uses ne in some fixed or stylistic expressions. Here are a few:

  • ne serait-ce (que) → if only/could it be that
    Example:
    Ne serait-ce que mon passeport se trouve chez ma tante ?Could it be that my passport is at my aunt’s?
    expresses a possibility, not real negation
  • ne fût-ce que → if only/could it be that
    Example:
    Ou ne fût-ce que je l’aurais laissé chez mon amie ?Or could it be that I left it at my friend’s?
    expresses a possibility, not real negation, more formal than ne serait-ce (que)
  • ne…guère → hardly/scarcely/not much
    Example:
    Tu ne m’aides guère avec ces remarques.You’re not helping me much with these comments.
    in other words: Tu ne m’aides pas beaucoup.
    real negation and is literary/formal
  • ne…point → not/not at all
    Example:
    Dans ces circonstances, il ne vaut point s’agiter.In these circumstances, it’s not worth getting worked up.
    replaces ne…pas
    real negation and is literary/old-fashioned

ne...que

Sometimes you’ll see the structure ne…que in a sentence. Even though it looks like a negation, it doesn’t express “not”. It simply means “only”.

Example:
Il ne reste que deux heures avant le départ.There are only two hours left before departure.
in other words: Il reste seulement deux heures.