ne as expletve?

D. A.C1Kwiziq community member

ne as expletve?

OK, I spelled 'conduisiez' wrong, but I am puzzled as to the of the expletif 'ne' here.  As I understand it, it has no negative meaning, but how does one know when to use it in these subjunctive clauses?

Asked 2 years ago
CécileKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hi Chris, 

The use of the 'ne explétif' after certain verbs and expressions indicating some emotions like fear, doubt are given in the following Kwiziq lessons.

Understanding the 'ne' explétif

De peur que + ne explétif + Le Subjonctif = For fear that

The verb 'craindre que'to fear that ) is one of those.

Je crains que vous ne conduisiez trop vite = I fear that you drive too fast 

But in spoken French, it will often be omitted and that is why we both accept 'conduisiez' and 'ne conduisiez' in the test.

Hope this helps!

Jim J.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Hi Chris,

In my grammar reference ne explétif is referred to as "padding". What does this mean?

My best advice is to study the following link (in its entirety) by Laura Lawless - it is excellent.

https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/ne-expletif/

Bonne continuation.

Jim

D. A. asked:View original

ne as expletve?

OK, I spelled 'conduisiez' wrong, but I am puzzled as to the of the expletif 'ne' here.  As I understand it, it has no negative meaning, but how does one know when to use it in these subjunctive clauses?

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