Pas ou non ?
- « Back to Q&A Forum
- « Previous questionNext question »
Shivani S.Kwiziq community member
Pas ou non ?
Quand est-ce qu'on utilise "pas" et quand "non" ?
La phrase ci-dessus est-elle correcte?
This question relates to:French lesson "Que + the subjunctive mood (Le Subjonctif) = Whether you do something (or not) in French"
Asked 7 years ago
Bonjour Shivani !
You can use either non or pas in sentences expressing two alternative options = [whether] ... or not.
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
You can use either non or pas in sentences expressing two alternative options = [whether] ... or not.
Je le ferai ou pas.
Je le ferai ou non.
(I'll do it or not.)
In all other cases, you will use pas to express not in negative sentences.Je le ferai ou non.
(I'll do it or not.)
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Ron T. Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonjour Shivani,
In reviewing the lesson, I believe the excerpt below differentiates the use of «non» or «pas»
Que tu fasses tes devoirs ou non, c'est ton choix après tout !
Whether you do your homework or not, it's your choice after all!
To express hypotheses with whether [one does] in French, you will use que + Le Subjonctif.
You won't use this in Indirect Speech where whether = if, i.e. after verbs like se demander (to wonder) or savoir (to know). In these cases, you'll simply use si (if) + L'Indicatif in French:
Je me demande si tu vas venir ou pas.
I wonder whether you'll come or not.
J'espère que ma réponse vous aiderait.
Bonne chance,
à bientôt
Paul F. Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Like Shivani, I was also wondering this, but there are two conflicting answers. Ron, your theory ("ou non" after que ... and "ou pas" after si ...) works for most of the given examples in this lesson except for example number 1 - "peu importe qu'il vienne ou pas" , so is it the case that Aurélie's answer ("ou non" or "ou pas" are interchangeable when there are two alternative options) is instead the correct one???
Paul F. Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Merci Aurélie. Je n’avais jamais remarqué cette fonctionnalité. Je le saurai maintenant.
Don't have an account yet? Join today
Ask a question
Find your French level for FREE
Test your French to the CEFR standard
Find your French level