The negative formUsing negatives with the perfect tense

Do you you know how to use the negative form? In French ne ... pas means 'not' and it is used around the main verb of sentence to turn it from a positive into a negative.

Part ofFrenchVerbs and tenses

Using negatives with the perfect tense

In the perfect tense the negative forms go around the initial part of avoir or être:

  • je n'ai pas parlé à Marie - I haven't spoken to Marie
  • elle n’est pas allée à la fête - she didn’t go to the party

When two verbs are used together in a sentence, the ne ... pas goes around the first:

  • il ne peut pas aller au cinéma - he can't go to the cinema
  • je ne vais plus manger de viande - I'm not going to eat meat anymore