Negation, questions and exclamations · French grammar A2

Contents · A2

In this part, you will learn to say “no more”, “nothing” and “nobody”. You will also learn to express surprise and to ask formal questions.

Saying no more, nothing and nobody: ne… plus, ne… rien, ne… personne#

Like ne… pas, the negations ne… plus, ne… rien and ne… personne have two parts around the conjugated verb.

Mon grand-père ne conduit plus.My grandfather doesn’t drive any more.
Il n’y a rien dans mon sac.There is nothing in my bag.
Personne ne veut jouer avec moi !Nobody wants to play with me!
Nous n’avons rien acheté au marché.We didn’t buy anything at the market.
Il n’a vu personne au bureau.He didn’t see anyone at the office.
Je ne parle pas allemand. — Moi non plus.I don’t speak German. — Me neither.
J’ai trouvé quelque chose d’intéressant.I found something interesting.

Formation

The negations are ne… plus (“no longer”), ne… rien (“nothing”, “not… anything”) and ne… personne (“nobody”, “not… anyone”).
Ne is placed before the conjugated verb, and plus, rien or personne after it.
Plus, rien and personne are used instead of pas: there is no pas with them.

Negation	Meaning	Example
ne… pas	not	Je ne prends pas le bus.
ne… plus	no longer, not any more	Je ne prends plus le bus.
ne… jamais	never	Je ne prends jamais le bus.
ne… rien	nothing	Elle ne mange rien le matin.
ne… personne	nobody	Je ne vois personne.

Ne… plus

Ne… plus is the negative answer to a question with encore (“still”): Tu habites encore à Lyon ? — Non, je n’habite plus à Lyon. (“Do you still live in Lyon? — No, I don’t live in Lyon any more.”)
As after pas, the indefinite and partitive articles become de: Je n’ai plus d’argent. (“I have no money left.”)

Rien and personne as subjects

As subjects, rien and personne are placed first, and ne comes before the verb: Rien ne marche. (“Nothing works.”), Personne n’est venu. (“Nobody came.”)
Alone, as an answer, rien and personne are used without ne: Qu’est-ce que tu veux ? — Rien. (“What do you want? — Nothing.”)
Quelque chose (“something”) and quelqu’un (“somebody”) are the affirmative counterparts of rien and personne.
An adjective after rien or quelque chose is introduced by de and is masculine: quelque chose de beau, rien d’important.

Word order in the passé composé

In the passé composé (past simple), rien is placed between the auxiliary and the past participle.
In the passé composé, personne is placed after the past participle.

	Example
rien	Nous n’avons rien acheté.
personne	Je n’ai vu personne.
plus	Il n’a plus téléphoné.

Short answers

Moi aussi (“me too”) is the reply to an affirmative statement.
The reply to a negative statement is moi non plus (“me neither”).
Si is the “yes” that contradicts a negative question or statement: Tu n’as pas faim ? — Si ! (“Aren’t you hungry? — Yes, I am!”)
Two people are contrasted with moi si, moi non, lui oui: Je n’aime pas le football. — Moi si. (“I don’t like football. — I do.”)

Difference from English

Nothing or nobody alone is negative in English; in French, ne is added before the verb: Ma voisine ne voit rien. (“My neighbour can’t see anything.”)
“Anyone” is quelqu’un in a question but personne in a negative sentence: Tu vois quelqu’un ? — Non, je ne vois personne. (“Can you see anyone? — No, I can’t see anyone.”)

Common mistakes

~~Je ne vois pas personne.~~ → Je ne vois personne.Personne is used instead of pas.
~~Il n’a compris rien.~~ → Il n’a rien compris.In the passé composé, rien is placed before the participle.
~~Je ne connais pas Rome. — Moi aussi.~~ → Moi non plus.After a negative statement, “me neither” is moi non plus.
~~Personne a téléphoné.~~ → Personne n’a téléphoné.Ne is placed before the verb, even when personne is the subject.

Remember

You place ne before the verb and plus, rien or personne after it: Je ne bois plus de café. (“I don’t drink coffee any more.”)
You never use pas with rien or personne: Je ne vois personne. (“I can’t see anyone.”)
In the passé composé, you place rien before the past participle: Il n’a rien compris. (“He didn’t understand anything.”)
You answer a negative statement with moi non plus: Je n’ai pas faim. — Moi non plus. (“I’m not hungry. — Me neither.”)

You now know how to say “no more”, “nothing” and “nobody”, and to answer with moi non plus or si.

Practise

“Negation, questions and exclamations”, The negation ne… plus, moi non plus “Negation, questions and exclamations”, Nothing and something: rien, quelque chose “Negation, questions and exclamations”, Nobody and somebody: personne, quelqu'un

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Expressing surprise or admiration: quel, que, comme#

An exclamation is formed with quel before a noun, or with comme or que before a whole clause.

Quel beau jardin !What a beautiful garden!
Quel temps ! Il pleut depuis lundi.What weather! It’s been raining since Monday.
Quels jolis enfants !What lovely children!
Comme tu parles bien français !How well you speak French!
Qu’il fait chaud aujourd’hui !How hot it is today!

Formation

Quel (“what”, “what a”) is placed before a noun, with no article, and agrees with it: quel, quelle, quels, quelles.
Comme and que (“how”) are placed before a whole clause, whose word order does not change: Comme il fait beau ! (“The weather is so nice!”), Que c’est joli ! (“How pretty it is!”)
Que becomes qu’ before a vowel.

Difference from English

In an English exclamation, the adjective comes first; in French, the word order does not change: Comme c’est grand ! (“How big it is!”)

Common mistakes

~~Quelle une surprise !~~ → Quelle surprise !English “What a surprise!” has the article a, but no article follows quel in an exclamation.
~~Quel belle maison !~~ → Quelle belle maison !Quel agrees with the noun: maison is feminine.
~~Comment il est gentil !~~ → Comme il est gentil !Comment is used in questions; the exclamation is formed with comme.

Remember

You use quel before a noun, with no article: Quelle belle journée ! (“What a beautiful day!”)
You make quel agree with the noun: Quelles jolies fleurs ! (“What pretty flowers!”)
You use comme or que before a whole clause: Comme c’est cher ! (“It’s so expensive!”)

You now know how to express surprise or admiration with quel, que and comme.

Practise

“Negation, questions and exclamations”, Exclamations: quel, que, comme

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Asking formal questions: inversion and -t-#

In a formal or written question, the subject pronoun is placed after the verb, with a hyphen.

Parlez-vous anglais ?Do you speak English?
Où habitent-ils maintenant ?Where do they live now?
Ta sœur vient-elle avec nous ?Is your sister coming with us?
Quand arrive-t-il ?When is he arriving?

Formation

The subject pronoun is placed after the verb, with a hyphen: Habitez-vous ici ? (“Do you live here?”), Où allez-vous ? (“Where are you going?”)
In a yes/no question, a noun subject is placed first and repeated by a pronoun: Votre frère vient-il ? (“Is your brother coming?”)
When the verb ends in a vowel, -t- is placed between the verb and il, elle or on: Parle-t-elle anglais ? (“Does she speak English?”), A-t-il faim ? (“Is he hungry?”)

Use

An inverted question means the same as a question with est-ce que or with intonation alone.
In everyday speech, Où est-ce que vous allez ? (“Where are you going?”) or Vous allez où ? (“Where are you going?”) is used instead of Où allez-vous ? (“Where are you going?”)
At this level, inversion is recognised in reading and in formal speech, above all with vous.

Difference from English

French inverted questions have no auxiliary do; the verb is placed before the pronoun: Ton frère joue-t-il au tennis ? (“Does your brother play tennis?”)

Common mistakes

~~Parle-il anglais ?~~ → Parle-t-il anglais ?When the verb ends in a vowel, -t- is placed before il, elle or on.
~~Vient votre frère ?~~ → Votre frère vient-il ?In a yes/no question, a noun subject is placed first and repeated by a pronoun after the verb.

Remember

You place the subject pronoun after the verb, with a hyphen: Parlez-vous français ? (“Do you speak French?”)
You add -t- between a verb ending in a vowel and il, elle or on: Où va-t-il ? (“Where is he going?”)
You meet inversion above all in writing and in formal speech: Avez-vous des questions ? (“Do you have any questions?”)

You now know how to recognise and ask a formal question with inversion.

In short

Point	Form	Example
no longer	ne… plus	Il ne pleut plus.
nothing	ne… rien; rien ne	On n’a rien trouvé.
nobody	ne… personne; personne ne	Je n’ai vu personne.
me neither	moi non plus	Moi non plus.
exclamation	quel + noun; comme, que + clause	Quel bruit ! Comme c’est loin !
inversion	verb-pronoun; -t- between two vowels	Va-t-elle bien ?

Going further

After a question word, a noun subject may be placed after the verb: Quand commence le film ? (“When does the film start?”)

Practise

“Negation, questions and exclamations”, Inverted questions: Où habitez-vous ?

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