aucun/e ne is always followed by singular in French (even though in modern English, none of them are is sometimes considered acceptable) aucun/aucune agree in gender with the object it refers to; You have to use the negation ne/n' unlike in English ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your Rien ne s’est passé. The negative adverb ne... que means "only," so ne... pas que means "not only":Il n'y avait que des hommes.There were only men. We can also express none of them using aucun d'entre eux ne ... / aucune d'entre elles ne ..., like this: Want to make sure your French sounds confident? The girls are going out tonight, but none (of them) is taking the train. Double Negation With N e... Pas. While this may be true in English, in French two negatives usually make a stronger negative. vs.Je ne regrette pas qu'une chose.I don't regret only one thing. (= avant je jouais, mais maintenant j'ai arrêté) - Tu fumes des cigarettes ? + Ne … nul can be used only with collective and uncountable nouns, like water and happiness. A simple explanation of "Ne ... aucun(e) = None (negation)". When the negative pronoun is the object of a preposition, ne precedes the verb and the main word follows the preposition. - Tu joues au tennis ? By using ThoughtCo, you accept our, How to Say 'None,' 'No One,' 'Nothing" in French, The Restrictive "Only" / "Not Only" in French, Informal French Negation: 'Pas' Without 'Ne', French Negative Adverbs: How to Form Them, Expressing Quantity in French - Zero, None, Not Any - Pas De. L’adverbe ne est généralement accompagné d’un autre mot de négation comme les déterminants et pronoms aucun(e), nul(le), personne, rien ou les adverbes pas, plus, jamais, nullement, et parfois (dans un registre littéraire ou vieilli) point et guère. ne … pas un (e) seul (e) not a single. Kwiziq French is a product of and © Kwiziq Ltd 2020, Du, de la, de l', des all become de or d' in negative sentences (partitive articles), Using ne ... pas with simple tenses (negation), Using ne ... pas with reflexive verbs in simple tenses (negation), Using 'ne ... pas' with compound tenses (negation), Using 'ne ... pas' with reflexive verbs in compound tenses (negation). Ne... pas cannot be used with aucun, jamais, or personne. La phrase concernée est celle-ci… — On n’a aucun détail sur cette prise de contrôle. Jamais and plus can be used with one another and with the negative words aucun, personne, and rien.On ne voit jamais aucune perfection.One never sees any perfection.Literally, One never sees no perfection.Je n'ai jamais blessé personne.I have never hurt anyone.Literally, I have never hurt no one.Je n'ai jamais rien volé.I have never stolen anything.Literally, I have never stolen nothing.Je n'ai plus aucun argent.I don't have any money any more.Literally, I don't have no money any more.Je ne peux plus jamais lui parler.I can never talk to him again.Literally, I can't never talk to him again.Je ne vois plus personne.I don't see anyone any more.Literally, I don't see no one any more. Though all negative adjectives mean essentially the same thing, there is a grammatical difference between them: + Ne … aucun can be used with any kind of noun. Rien ne va. On n’avait rien reçu. You didn’t talk to anyone. Ne... pas que is a special case. It also matches the gender of the word it refers to. Je ne mange plus. gaps and mistakes. Aucun de vous n’a de voiture. It's not nothing > It's something. ne + verb + aucun: To describe it quickly, while rien means "nothing", aucun (e) means "no/none of/not any of (something)". (= pas une seule fois) - Tu regardes des films espagnols ? Nothing happened. - Non, je ne veux rien. vs.Il n'y avait pas que des hommes.There weren't only men.Je ne regrette qu'une chose.I regret only one thing. When ne... pas is used in a double negative with rien, it negates rien so that the meaning is "not nothing": Ce n'est pas rien. - Tu veux quelque chose ? Examples. Out of all the lies you told, none is believable. - Non, je ne fume jamais. + Ne … pas un ( seul) can be used only with countable nouns, like teachers and flowers. Double negation is very common in French, particularly informal French. Il n’a peur de rien. - Non, je ne vois personne. However, there are some rules and regulations when using double negatives in French. It takes or refers to singular nouns and is always singular itself (with only one uncommon exception I can think of). When ne... pas is used in a double negative with rien, it negates rien so that the meaning is "not nothing":Ce n'est pas rien.It's not nothing > It's something.Ne... pas cannot be used with aucun, jamais, or personne.Wrong: Je n'ai pas aucun ami.Right: Je n'ai aucun ami.I have no friends.Wrong: Je ne veux pas jamais grandir.Right: Je ne veux jamais grandir.I never want to grow up.Wrong: Je n'ai pas vu personne.Right: Je n'ai vu personne.I didn't see anyone. J’ai posé la question sur un forum et on m’a répondu que dans la grosse majorité des cas aucun s’emploie avec la négation du verbe. - Non, je ne regarde aucun … He’s not afraid of anything. Grammarians insist that two negatives make a positive. Look at these examples with aucun(e) ... ne: This term can refer to both objects and people. Je me suis demandé si le mot « aucun » s’utilisait avec la négation ne pas ou si, au contraire, il s’agissait de la liaison à l’oral. Start your Braimap today ». Revise and improve your French with detailed content, examples, audio, personalised practice tests and learning tools Wrong: Je n'ai pas aucun … Tu n’as parlé à personne. - Non, je ne joue plus.