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Negation with ne...pas

FoundationHigherAQA

Practise Negation with ne...pas for GCSE French with this free worksheet and full mark scheme — Foundation and Higher exam-style practice with worked answers for AQA GCSE French (8652). Ne goes before the verb and pas after it to make a sentence negative.

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These worksheets and mark schemes are original, written for Virtus Academy and checked against the current AQA specification. Every worksheet comes with a full mark scheme.

Foundation

WorksheetFoundation · PDFMark SchemeFoundation · PDF

Higher

WorksheetHigher · PDFMark SchemeHigher · PDF

Topic overview

French negation uses two words that surround the verb: ne before it and pas after it.

Je parle becomes je ne parle pas. Both halves are required — dropping the ne is common in casual speech but is marked as an error in writing. Ne shortens to n' before a vowel: je n'aime pas.

In the perfect tense, ne and pas surround the auxiliary only, leaving the past participle outside: je n'ai pas mangé. With an infinitive following a modal, they surround the modal: je ne veux pas partir. And the partitive collapses to de after any negative: je n'ai pas de pain.

Revision notes

The two-part structure

Ne goes before the verb, pas after it.

Je ne parle pas. Il ne mange pas. Ne shortens to n' before a vowel or silent h: je n'aime pas, il n'habite pas.

With two verbs

In the perfect tense, ne and pas surround the AUXILIARY only.

Je n'ai pas mangé — the past participle sits outside. With a modal plus infinitive, they surround the modal: je ne veux pas partir.

The partitive rule

Du, de la and des all collapse to de after a negative.

J'ai du pain becomes je n'ai pas de pain. This applies to every negative structure, not just ne...pas, and is examined constantly.

Key points

  • Ne goes before the verb and pas after.
  • Both halves are required in writing.
  • Ne shortens to n' before a vowel.
  • In the perfect they surround the auxiliary.
  • With a modal they surround the modal.
  • The partitive collapses to de.

Worked examples

Example 1

Make this negative: Je parle français. [2 marks]

Working

Je ne parle pas françaisplace ne before the verb and pas after
Both halves of the negative are requiredexplain the structure

Example 2

Make this negative: J'ai mangé. [2 marks]

Working

Je n'ai pas mangéplace ne and pas around the auxiliary
The past participle stays outside the negative, and ne shortens to n'explain the position and elision

Example 3

Make this negative: J'ai du pain. [2 marks]

Working

Je n'ai pas de painplace ne and pas around the verb
Du collapses to de after the negativeapply the partitive rule

Common mistakes

  • Dropping the ne.

    Common in speech but marked as an error in writing.

  • Putting pas after the past participle.

    It goes after the auxiliary.

  • Keeping du or des after a negative.

    They collapse to de.

  • Forgetting the elision.

    Je n'aime pas, not je ne aime pas.

Exam tips

  • Always include both ne and pas.
  • Surround the auxiliary in the perfect tense.
  • Collapse the partitive to de.
  • Apply elision before a vowel.

Key terms

Negation
Making a sentence negative with two words.
Ne
The first half of the negative, before the verb.
Pas
The second half, after the verb or auxiliary.
Partitive collapse
Du, de la and des becoming de after a negative.

Related topics

Written and reviewed against the current AQA specification. Spotted an error? Let us know.