ou non

Tammy K.C1Kwiziq community member

ou non

Are 'ou non' and 'ou pas' interchangeable?  If not, how do I know when to use each one? Examples I have come across in my studies: "Que tu l'admettes ou non, ce ne sont pas tes amis." and "C'est comme ça qu'elle veuille l'accepter ou pas.

Asked 2 years ago
CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Tammy, 

This is Aurélie's answer to a similar question -

https://kwiziq.learnfrenchwithalexa.com/questions/view/pas-ou-non

Hope it helps!

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Both alternatives -- ou pas as well as ou non -- are often used synonymously in spoken French even though, on paper, there is a slight difference. The gist is that if you want to negate the whole statement made before, you use ou non, it's the safe bet.

If you want to read more on this, here is a useful link:

http://parler-francais.eklablog.com/ou-non-ou-pas-a41348061#:~:text=Doit%2Don%20dire%20%3A%20Qu',elle%2Dm%C3%AAme%20de%20valeur%20n%C3%A9gative.

ou non

Are 'ou non' and 'ou pas' interchangeable?  If not, how do I know when to use each one? Examples I have come across in my studies: "Que tu l'admettes ou non, ce ne sont pas tes amis." and "C'est comme ça qu'elle veuille l'accepter ou pas.

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