Believe it or not, there’s a lot more to French negation than just ne…pas! There are many options to negate in French, depending on the situation and level of formality. Many of these expressions follow the same basic syntax rules as ne…pas, but a few have their own special rules. In this post, we’ll introduce the complete list of negative expressions in French and explain how and when to use them.

This is an intermediate to advanced post, so if you’re just starting out with negation in French then we suggest you first master the basic ne…pas form before moving on to the negative expressions we’ll get into here. We explain that one for you in our post on French negation using ne pas. If you’ve got that one down, you’re ready to dive in and learn these more-advanced French negation expressions!

French negative adverbs built on Ne Pas

We can use certain adverbs in French to create new negation phrases. Some adverbs, like encore or du tout, will follow pas in the basic negative formulation that starts with ne pas. Adding these additional adverbs gives the expression an entirely new meaning, so let’s see each of them here.

Ne…pas encore

The first of our common negative adverbs in French is ne…pas encore. Meaning not yet, this negative expression hints at the possibility of something happening in the future. It’s used the exact same way as ne…pas, but the word encore will always immediately follow pas.

• Je n’ai pas encore fini ! – I haven’t finished yet!

• Vous ne parlez pas encore espagnol. – You don’t speak Spanish yet.

Ne…pas du tout

The next French negation expression is ne…pas du tout, which means not at all. This phrase emphasizes the total lack of something in the sentence. Like with the previous phrase, this phrase is used like ne…pas with the words du tout always directly following pas.

• Elle n’aime pas du tout cette couleur. – She doesn’t like this color at all.

• Nous n’avons pas du tout compris ce que tu as dit. – We didn’t understand what you said at all.

Ne…pas non plus

The negative expression ne…pas non plus means neither or not either and adds an additional negative element to a negative phrase. This expression is often used when responding to a question to state that something mentioned is also not true.

• Tu aimes le chocolat ? / Non, je n’aime pas le chocolat, et je n’aime pas non plus les bonbons. – Do you like chocolate? / No, I don’t like chocolate, and I don’t like candy either.

Ne…pas toujours

Another negative phrase, ne…pas toujours, means not always. It can be used to express occasional exceptions to a general rule or statement.

• Il ne fait pas toujours beau en été. – It’s not always nice out in the summer.

Ne…pas trop

The expression ne…pas trop means not too much or not so much, and is used to connote moderation. This negative expression can be followed by either a countable or an uncountable noun, and as such it is sometimes translated as not too many or not so many. We need to follow this expression with the partitive article de in order to introduce the noun.

• Ne mange pas trop de gâteau ! – Don’t eat too much cake!

• Je n’ai pas trop de verres à l’appartement. Je dois acheter des tasses en plastique avant la soirée. – I don’t have so many glasses in my apartment. I need to buy some plastic cups before the party.

Ne…pas forcément

Our next negative adverb in French is ne…pas forcément, which means not necessarily. This phrase is used to convey that something may not always be true.

• Tu n’es pas forcément toujours en retard; parfois tu arrives à l’heure. – You’re not necessarily always late; sometimes you arrive on time.

• Elle n’a pas forcemment envie de sortir avec lui. – She doesn’t necessarily want to go out with him.

Ne…pas davantage

The negative phrase ne…pas davantage is used to express that something is not progressing or increasing anymore, and can translate as not so much, not anymore, or no more. As it’s used to make a comparison with some other situation, this phrase is generally followed by que to introduce the opposing situation.

• Mon boulot ne me plaît pas davantage qu’avant. – My job doesn’t please me any more than before.

• Il n’y a pas davantage de pluie en Normandie qu’il y a en Belgique. – There is no more rain in Normandy than there is in Belgium.

Ne…pas que

Ne…pas que means not only or not just, and is used to indicate that there is more to the situation than what is being mentioned. When speaking, emphasis is placed on the word que.

• Je ne parle pas que l’anglais, mais aussi le français et l’espagnol. – I speak not only English, but also French and Spanish.

• Je suis végétarienne, mais je ne mange pas que de la salade. – I’m a vegetarian, but I don’t just eat salad.

French negative adverbs that replace Pas

In our first list we saw a number of negations in French that start with ne…pas and are followed by an additional adverb to convey a specific meaning. In this section, we’ll look at many of the common French negation expressions that still begin with ne… but where the pas is replaced with other adverbs. These French ne + adverb expressions have their own distinct meanings and uses that we’ll examine here.

Ne…que

Closely related to the last French negation expression we saw, ne…que (without the pas) means only. It is used to point out the sole nature of something in a sentence.

• La plupart des citoyens ne parlent qu’une seule langue. – Most citizens speak only one language.

• Je n’ai que cinq Euros dans mon compte. – I have only five Euros in my bank account.

Ne…plus

Our next French negative adverb is ne…plus. It can mean no more when referring to a noun, or not anymore when used with a verb. This expression indicates that something that was true in the past is no longer true in the present. When using ne…plus with a noun, remember to use the partitive article de to introduce the noun, which translates as some or any.

• Je ne veux plus de café, merci. – I don’t want any more coffee, thank you.

• On ne va plus au cinéma. – We don’t go to the movies anymore.

It’s important to note that the word plus can be used to indicate both negative and positive in French. Technically it needs the ne to have its negative meaning, but in casual spoken French the ne is often omitted.

So how do we know if plus means more or no more? Aside from inferring from the context, there’s a slight pronunciation change: when used as positive, the final s in plus is pronounced, whereas the final s is silent when used as negative.

Practice this pronunciation with the following examples. We include the ne in brackets to show how it can be omitted in casual speech:

• Vous servez encore de la crème glacée? Mon fils en veut plus, mais moi, j[e n]’en veux plus. – You’re still serving ice cream? My son wants some more, but me, I don’t want any more.

• Être sans emploi est contradictoire. J’ai plus de temps, mais [je n’ai] plus d’argent. – Being unemployed is contradictory. I have more time, but [I have] no more money.

Ne…rien

Another French negation expression is ne…rien, which means nothing or not anything, and emphasizes the absence of something in the sentence. As with the previous expression, the ne is often omitted in casual speech, even though it is necessary to be grammatically correct.

• Elle ne regrette rien. – She doesn’t regret anything. – She regrets nothing.

• Vous n’avez rien dit. – You did not say anything. – You’ve said nothing.

Ne…jamais

Our next negative adverb is ne…jamais, meaning never or not ever. This expression is often used to express things that the speaker has never done or places they have never been.

• Tu n’as jamais vu la tour Eiffel ? – You’ve never seen the Eiffel Tower?

• Ils ne sont jamais allés au Canada. – They have never been to Canada.

Ne…nulle part

The negative expression ne…nulle part is linked to places, as it means nowhere or not anywhere.

• Je ne trouve nulle part mes clés. – I can’t find my keys anywhere.

• Il n’y a nulle part où je me sens plus confortable que chez moi. – There is nowhere that I feel more comfortable than in my home.

Ne…personne

Our final common French negation expression is ne…personne. While personne is grammatically a pronoun, not an adverb, its negative expression is commonly used and therefore an important entry on this list. The expression ne…personne means no one, nobody, not anyone, or not anybody, and is used in reference to the absence of a person or people.

• Il n’y a personne ici ! – There’s no one here!

• Je ne vois personne dans la salle. – I don’t see anyone in the room.

Advanced negative adverbs in French

If you’ve learned all the French negation expressions we’ve introduced up to this point, you’re doing great! The ones we’ve covered so far are the most common negative adverbial expressions used regularly in the language.

To round out our post, we’ll finish with this section on some of the advanced negative adverbs. You’re less likely to encounter these very often, as they’re generally used in more formal contexts or in literature. For completeness though, let’s see this last set of advanced negatives in French.

Like the previous list, these require the use of ne before the verb, followed by the relevant negative adverb. We do not include pas with these expressions.

Ne…ni…ni

The first of our advanced French negation phrases is ne…ni…ni. This one is actually as common as the others we’ve seen so far, but we’re including it in the advanced section since it is employed in a slightly different manner.

This expression means neither…nor or not…nor, and is used to negate multiple actions or items in a list. To use ne…ni…ni, we place ne before the verb and ni before each action or item being negated. We’re not limited to only two uses of the word ni, but don’t overdo it!

• Je ne bois ni café ni thé. – I drink neither coffee nor tea.

• La pièce de théâtre n’était ni intéressante, ni amusante, ni captivante. – The play was neither interesting, nor amusing, nor captivating.

Ne…guère

Our next advanced French negation expression is ne…guère, which translates to variants of hardly, barely, or scarcely. This expression emphasizes the limited nature of the action or situation in the sentence.

• Il ne parle guère de ses expériences militaires. – He hardly talks about his military experiences.

• Ce restaurant n’a guère changé depuis la dernière fois que nous y sommes venus. – This restaurant has barely changed since the last time we came here.

Ne…point

The next of our advanced negative adverbs is ne…point, which means not at all. This expression is considered similar to ne…pas, but more formal and literary, and is not commonly used in everyday spoken French.

• Nous ne comprenons point ce qu’il vient de dire. – We do not understand what he just said at all.

• Elle ne s’inquiète point des opinions des autres. – She is not at all concerned about the opinions of others.

Ne…nullement

Another negative adverb in French is ne…nullement, which means not at all or in no way. This expression is a more formal version of the expressions ne…pas du tout and ne…rien, and is a way to strongly deny or oppose something.

• Je ne suis nullement intéressée par ce que tu veux dire. – I am not at all interested in what you want to say.

• Elle lui a donné assez de signes, mais ce mec ne les a nullement compris. – She gave him enough signs, but this guy didn’t understand them whatsoever.

Ne…aucunement

The last of our French ne expressions is ne…aucunement, also meaning not at all or in no way. It’s used very similarly to ne…nullement, and is a stronger and more formal version of ne…pas du tout and ne…rien.

• Cette décision ne me convient aucunement. – This decision does not suit me at all.

• Je me rends compte que mon partenaire n’a aucunement contribué à notre travail d’équipe. – I realize that my partner has contributed in no way to our group work.

Conclusion

In today’s post, we introduced a broad variety of French negation expressions, with explanations and examples for how to use each one.

Negation is a fundamental language concept that allows us to convey the absence or lack of something, disagreement or denial, and change over time. Using more nuanced negative expressions than ne…pas opens the door to more specific communication, and advances your French fluency.

Mastering the negation phrases in this post, from the common ones all the way through to the advanced, will help you improve your vocabulary and grammar skills. Regularly peppering your conversation with these negatives in French will have you sounding like a native in no time!