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Negation: saying ‘not’ the natural way

Learn the main negative pattern and two phrases you’ll use constantly.

How negation works

Start with one common negative sentence and reuse it.

  • Classic negation: ne … pas around the verb.
  • In casual speech, ne is often dropped: Je comprends pas.
Je ne sais pas.
I don't know.
Je comprends pas.
I don't understand. (casual)
Je ne comprends pas.
I don't understand.

Practice tip

Say positive and negative back‑to‑back to train your ear.

  • I understand → I don’t understand
  • I know → I don’t know

Mini‑quiz

Mini-quiz
1/6 • Score: 0
Which sentence matches “I don't know.”?