Confusion with ne...pas.

Renate A.B2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Confusion with ne...pas.

Confusion with ne....pas. First I thought always de after ne... pas. Then I read there is an exception when être is used. Use un/une. What is happening then in this example?Les filles jouent au foot? Non, elles ne jouent pas au foot. Is there a lesson that explains all the options?
Asked 7 years ago
Ron T.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonjour Renate, I am unsure of what you have read about the use of «de» following the negative; however, I found this on another resource site that supports your statement. (I find that researching other sites at times can give me another viewpoint concerning a question that I might have. I did find this article on a site that supports the non-use of «de» following the negative In a negative sentence, the indefinite articles un, une, des are replaced by «de or d'»: Tex: Joe-Bob, tu as un chien? Joe-Bob: Mais non! Je n'ai pas de chien. Je suis un écureuil. Tex: Corey, tu as des amis? Corey: Mais non! Je n'ai pas d'amis. Je suis un cafard. *****However, following the verb «être», the indefinite articles «un, une, des» remain unchanged in the negative: Edouard: Joe-Bob, c'est un écureuil. Ce n'est pas un tatou! Tex et Tammy, ce sont des tatous. Ce ne sont pas des escargots. J'espère que ma réponse vous aidera.
Renate A.B2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Oui. Un Peu. Merci.

Confusion with ne...pas.

Confusion with ne....pas. First I thought always de after ne... pas. Then I read there is an exception when être is used. Use un/une. What is happening then in this example?Les filles jouent au foot? Non, elles ne jouent pas au foot. Is there a lesson that explains all the options?

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