Please explain: Il a fait exprès de ne pas rendre la monnaie.

MattB1Kwiziq community member

Please explain: Il a fait exprès de ne pas rendre la monnaie.

Why "ne pas", by itself, not around a verb?
Asked 6 years ago
NicholasC1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Because the verb is an infinitive.
RonC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Bonsoir Matt, The link below is for the lesson that covers negation of the infinitif. Using negations with infinitive verbs in French indirect speech (French Negations)%252Fsearch%253Fs%253Dne%252Bpas%252B%25252B%252Binfinitive A simple explanation is: in a phrase where there is an infinitif, ne. . pas goes before the infinitif and does not «surround» it if you will. For example: J'ai pris la décision de ne pas faire un désordre. --> I made the decision to not make a mess. As can be seen, ne pas goes before the infinitif «faire». However, Je n'ai pas pris la décision de faire un déorder. --> I did not make the decision to make a mess. This is the usual negation form. As can be seen in comparing the two phrases, the first is to not make a mess while the other indicated that the speaker did not make the decision. J'espère que cela vous aidera bien. à bientôt Ron
MattB1Kwiziq community member
Good to know, thanks. Just to let you know, I ran into this question in Section A2 and the page that explains it is tagged B2. So maybe that's why I never saw it? I usually read all the lessons.

Please explain: Il a fait exprès de ne pas rendre la monnaie.

Why "ne pas", by itself, not around a verb?

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