Hi Tien,
Ne pas is just plain ‘not’ and ‘ne....plus’ is no longer/no more.
The Kwiziq lesson for ne...plus is the following -
https://kwiziq.learnfrenchwithalexa.com/revision/grammar/how-to-say-no-more-no-longer-ne-plus
Hope this helps!
Look at these negative complex sentences:
Tu ne veux pas venir ce soir ?
Don't you want to come tonight?
Je ne vais plus faire ton travail pour toi.
I'm not going to do your work for you anymore.
Elle ne viendra jamais voir sa pièce.
She will never come to see his play.
Nous ne savions pas lire avant.
We didn't know how to read before.
In sentences with both a conjugated verb AND an infinitive, the negations ne...pas / ne...jamais / ne...plus etc are placed on each side of the conjugated verb.
ATTENTION:
You cannot say : Tu ne veux venir pas ce soir.
BUT
You can say : Tu peux ne pas venir.
However, in that case, it means ''You can not come / You're allowed not to come.''
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Elle ne peut pas chanter.
She can't sing.
Je ne veux pas jouer.
I don't want to play.
Elle ne viendra jamais voir sa pièce.
She will never come to see his play.
Nous ne savions pas lire avant.
We didn't know how to read before.
Je ne vais plus faire ton travail pour toi.
I'm not going to do your work for you anymore.
Tu ne veux pas venir ce soir ?
Don't you want to come tonight?
Q&A Forum 13 questions, 26 answers
ne..pas = not: Il n'y a pas de lait dans le frigo. -- There is no milk in the fridge.
ne..plus = not (any)more: Il n'y a plus de lait dans le frigo. -- There is no more milk in the fridge.
Tiên asked:View original
i dont know when we use " pas" or when we use "plus" ~ Can you help me with this
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‘ne pas + infinitif’
Could someone kindly elaborate on the grammatical structure behind instances when ‘ne’ and ‘pas’ occur side-by-side, like ‘Tu peux ne pas venir’ and ‘Prière de ne pas déranger’ please?
Asked 1 month ago
ChrisCorrect answer
If ne..pas are used to negate a conjugated verb, they bracket the verb. If they negate an infinitive, the are both in front of the infinitive: ne pas + infinitive.
Sara asked:View original
‘ne pas + infinitif’
Could someone kindly elaborate on the grammatical structure behind instances when ‘ne’ and ‘pas’ occur side-by-side, like ‘Tu peux ne pas venir’ and ‘Prière de ne pas déranger’ please?
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‘ne pas + infinitif’
Could someone kindly elaborate on the grammatical structure behind instances when ‘ne’ and ‘pas’ occur side-by-side, like ‘Tu peux ne pas venir’ and ‘Prière de ne pas déranger’ please?
Asked 1 month ago
Sara asked:View original
‘ne pas + infinitif’
Could someone kindly elaborate on the grammatical structure behind instances when ‘ne’ and ‘pas’ occur side-by-side, like ‘Tu peux ne pas venir’ and ‘Prière de ne pas déranger’ please?
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Bonjour Madame ! I suppose ‘ne....nullepart’ and ‘ne........aucun(e)’ are pretty much exceptions to this rule ? Can this be highlighted further? Merci
Asked 4 months ago
Il ne veut dire quelquechose.
Il ne veut rien dire. / Il ne veut dire rien.
So I think ne.....rien too.
Please confirm, Madame. Bonne journée !
Shrey asked:View original
Bonjour Madame ! I suppose ‘ne....nullepart’ and ‘ne........aucun(e)’ are pretty much exceptions to this rule ? Can this be highlighted further? Merci
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CécileKwiziq language super star
Hi Aaron,
I am not clear about what you are asking ... can you elaborate?
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Asking negative vs positive questions
Am i understanding the lesson correctly by following the below example for the following translation?
English: How can I not go? Here, i'm intending to mean the sense that I don't want to go, am searching for a reason to not go, but i need to go or am required to go, etc.
Would that be: comment puis-je ne pas aller ?
Merci!
Asked 6 months ago
Bill asked:View original
Asking negative vs positive questions
Am i understanding the lesson correctly by following the below example for the following translation?
English: How can I not go? Here, i'm intending to mean the sense that I don't want to go, am searching for a reason to not go, but i need to go or am required to go, etc.
Would that be: comment puis-je ne pas aller ?
Merci!
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Bojour, Why is "Nous ne savions pas lire avant" translated as "We couldn't read before" !! Whereas it ought to be "We did not know how to read before.
Asked 8 months ago
ChrisCorrect answer
To me, either version is OK in English because "can" carries both meanings (to be able to something -- savoir, and to have the opportunity to do somtehing -- pouvoir).
"I can read" thus can both mean that I have learned to read in school and also that I am in a position to read (as in "I can read the text if you want.")
For the sake of clarity, however, and to be absolutely clear, the translation "We didn't know how to read" would be better.
AurélieKwiziq language super star
I completely agree with Chris's comprehensive answer :)
I've now changed the English accordingly.
Bonne journée !
Jerin asked:View original
Bojour, Why is "Nous ne savions pas lire avant" translated as "We couldn't read before" !! Whereas it ought to be "We did not know how to read before.
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Various verb tenses
Hello, i'm probably getting ahead of myself (only been studying French for 2 months) but wanted to see if anyone would be willing to let me know if I'm correct or not on below conjugations.
I ate = j'ai mangé
I was eating / used to eat = je mangaisI should eat = je devrais mangerI will eat = je mangeraiI should not eat = je ne devrais pas mangerI will have eaten = j'aurai mangéI will not have eaten yet = je n'aurai pas mangé encoreI had eaten = j'avais mangéI had not eaten yet = je n'avais mangé encoreI have to eat = je doit mangerI can't eat right now = je ne peux pas manger maintenant/tout de suite?I should have eaten = j'aurais pas dû mangerIt seems in general that "should" future uses conditional present and "should" future uses conditional past.I apologize in advance if this is too much for a single post :(Asked 9 months ago
ChrisCorrect answer
I had not eaten yet -- Je n'avais pas encore mangé
I have to eat -- Je dois manger
I should have eaten -- J'aurais dû manger
Merci beaucoup! I realized I had a couple stupid errors in my original post (je doit, par exemple eek) & the "pas" in my translation of I should have eaten - oops!
I understand my error in reposting "Je aurai dû..." should have been "aurais", (because doubt, certainty, wish, etc. requires conditional?) i think that was a typo the 2nd time around. I guess i had that correct initially (minus the "pas"), and shouldn't have changed the verb form for manger.
I need to read up more on the placement of adverbs such as "encore" around the pas, that is a little confusing to me. To me, the "encore" sounds better after pas, but that obviously doesn't mean anything.
Oh also to say "right now" in that context is it better to say maintenant or tout de suite?
Thanks so much! This site is awesome, i'm learning a lot from it.
For "right now", either maintenant or tout de suite is fine. For my feeling, tout de suite carries a bit more urgency, but I might be wrong.
Bill asked:View original
Various verb tenses
Hello, i'm probably getting ahead of myself (only been studying French for 2 months) but wanted to see if anyone would be willing to let me know if I'm correct or not on below conjugations.
I ate = j'ai mangé
I was eating / used to eat = je mangaisI should eat = je devrais mangerI will eat = je mangeraiI should not eat = je ne devrais pas mangerI will have eaten = j'aurai mangéI will not have eaten yet = je n'aurai pas mangé encoreI had eaten = j'avais mangéI had not eaten yet = je n'avais mangé encoreI have to eat = je doit mangerI can't eat right now = je ne peux pas manger maintenant/tout de suite?I should have eaten = j'aurais pas dû mangerIt seems in general that "should" future uses conditional present and "should" future uses conditional past.I apologize in advance if this is too much for a single post :(Don't have an account yet? Join today
Trying to say..
I shouldn't have eaten so much...
Je n'ai devrais pas trop mangé
I know this is incorrect, but would like some guidance on how to correctly state this.
Thank you
Asked 9 months ago
Hi Bill,
Actually the correct translation of 'I shouldn't have eaten so much' would be :
Je n'aurais pas dû autant manger
Hope this helps!
Je n'aurais pas dû trop manger.
You need the conditionel passé because the action is already in the past.
Bill asked:View original
Trying to say..
I shouldn't have eaten so much...
Je n'ai devrais pas trop mangé
I know this is incorrect, but would like some guidance on how to correctly state this.
Thank you
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Correction of conjugated verb
The test question: My mates are not going to celebrate the new year.
HINT: Use Le Futur Proche
I wrote: Mes potes n'iront pas célébrer la nouvelle année.
Correct answer: Mes potes ne vont pas célébrer la nouvelle année.
If 'vont' is Le Présent and 'iront' is Le Futur, then why would my answer be incorrect?
Asked 11 months ago
ChrisCorrect answer
Hi Lewis,
The futur proche is constructed by the conjuaged form of "aller" + infinitive:
Je vais célébrer. -- I am going to celebrate.
Ils vont célébrer. -- They are going to celebrate.
-- Chris.
Ok, I see the problem now. I used 'iront' which is futur presént, and completely forgot about the three A1 lessons on futur proche. Thanks.
Lewis asked:View original
Correction of conjugated verb
The test question: My mates are not going to celebrate the new year.
HINT: Use Le Futur Proche
I wrote: Mes potes n'iront pas célébrer la nouvelle année.
Correct answer: Mes potes ne vont pas célébrer la nouvelle année.
If 'vont' is Le Présent and 'iront' is Le Futur, then why would my answer be incorrect?
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Hi Sue,
What is your question exactely ? Is it about the verbal forms?
The correct way to say it is 'Nous ne devrions plus fumer' (Nous ne devrions plus + inf)
Do we say 'She shouldn't smokes anymore' ?
Je te laisse réfléchir à tout ça (I let you think!)
Sue asked:View original
Why is it ‘ne devrions fumer plus’ when there is a conjugated and an infinitive?
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'Nous ne savions pas lire avant' why we use indicatif imparfait of 'savoir' in here ?
Asked 1 year ago
ChrisCorrect answer
The imperfect tense is used because it refers to a longer lasting state as kind of a background description.
Another example:
Nous avions froid et faim à cette époque-là.
We were cold and hungry those days.
Hier nous avons eu faim donc on est rentrés.
Yesterday we were hungry, so we returned.
We were cold and hungry those days.
Hier nous avons eu faim donc on est rentrés.
Yesterday we were hungry, so we returned.
In the first example the description is about a longer lasting state and describes sets the scene for maybe a further statement whatever might have happened then.
In the second example it is about getting hungry and then returning, i.e., two occurences which both describe what HAPPENED (i.e., an action) and not what WAS (i.e., a state of being).
I hope that helps,
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
AurélieKwiziq language super star
To complete Chris' excellent answer, here are links to our lessons on how to use L'Imparfait :
Bonne journée !
Dingdong asked:View original
'Nous ne savions pas lire avant' why we use indicatif imparfait of 'savoir' in here ?
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