Copy of Week 19, Day 5: Negation and Interrogation in Compound Tense
Now that you have learned several grammar topics, the next major problem you could possibly encounter is the order of the words. So, today we will go through the three usual elements that can cause confusion in word order: pronominal verbs, compound tenses, and negation/interrogation.
We will take a look at negation and interrogation in four different cases:
1. Normal verb and simple tense (the standard case)
2. Normal verb and compound tense
3. Pronominal verb and simple tense
4. Pronominal verb and compound tense
First scenario (normal verb and simple tense): the negation words (negation adverbs) "ne...pas," "ne...plus," "ne...jamais", surround the main verb and the inverted subject (in the case of interrogation).
Examples:
Listen to Week 19 Day 5 Track 1
• Il finit la leçon. (He finishes his lesson.) → affirmation
• Il ne finit pas la leçon. → negation
• Finit-il la leçon ? → interrogation
• Ne finit-il pas la leçon ? → interro-negation
In the example above, we used the present tense, but take note that this structure remains the same for all other simple tenses in French (perfect tense, historical past tense, simple future tense, present conditional tense, present subjunctive tense, etc.).
Speaking Practice 1
Listen to Week 19 Day 5 Track 2
- Ne finis-tu pas ton repas ? (Do you not finish your meal?)
- Non, je ne finis pas mon repas. (No, I do not finish my meal.)
- Ne connaît-il pas les paroles ? (Does he not know the words?)
- Il ne connaît pas les paroles. (He does not know the words.)
Second scenario (normal verb and compound tense): the negation words surround the auxiliary and the inverted subject.
Let's use the same example so you can compare.
Listen to Week 19 Day 5 Track 3
• Il a fini la leçon. → affirmation
• Il n'a pas fini la leçon. → negation
• A-t-il fini la leçon ? → interrogation
• N'a-t-il-pas fini la leçon ? → interro-negation
The example above makes use of the perfect tense (passé composé), but the same structure will be used for all other compound tenses in French (pluperfect tense, past conditional tense, past subjunctive tense, etc.).
Speaking Practice 2
Listen to Week 19 Day 5 Track 4
- N'as-tu pas fini ton repas ? (Have you not finished your meal?)
- Je n'ai pas fini mon repas. (No, I have not finished my meal.)
- Il n'a pas appris les paroles. (He has not learned the words.)
- N'a-t-il pas appris les paroles ? (Has he not learned the words?)
Third scenario (pronominal verb and simple tense): the negation words surround the reflexive pronoun, the verb, and the inverted subject.
Listen to Week 19 Day 5 Track 5
• Il se lave les mains. (He washes his hands.) → affirmation
• Il ne se lave pas les mains → negation
• Se lave-t-il les mains? → interrogation
• Ne se lave-t-il-pas les mains? → interro-negation
Take note that the example above is in the present tense, but the structure is similar for all other simple tenses in French (perfect tense, historical past tense, simple future tense, present conditional tense, present subjunctive tense, etc.)
Listen to Week 19 Day 5 Track 6
- Se lève-t-il le matin ? (He wakes up in the morning?)
- Oui, il se lève le matin. (Yes, he gets up in the morning.)
- Ne sait-il pas comment il s'appelle ? (Does he not know his name?)
- Il ne sait pas comment il s'appelle. (He does not know his name.)
Fourth and final scenario (pronominal verb and compound tense): the negation words surround the reflexive pronoun, the auxiliary, and the inverted subject.
Listen to Week 19 Day 5 Track 7
• Il s'est lavé les mains. → affirmation
• Il ne s'est pas lavé les mains. → negation
• S'est-il lavé les mains ? → interrogation
• Ne s'est-il pas lavé les mains ? → interro-negation
Again, we used an example in the perfect tense (passé composé), but the structure is also the same for all other compound tenses in French (pluperfect, past conditional, past subjunctive, etc.).
Listen to Week 19 Day 5 Track 8
- S'est-il réveillé ce matin ? (Has he woken up this morning?)
- Il s'est réveillé ce matin. (He woke up this morning.)
- Ne s'est-il pas réveillé ce matin ? (Did he not wake up this morning?)
- Il ne s'est pas réveillé ce matin. (He did not wake up this morning.)
Additional Vocabulary:
Listen to Week 19 Day 5 Track 9
| Aussi sûr que deux et deux font quatre. | As sure as two and two make four. |
| C'est de bonne guerre. | It's only fair. |
| C'est joli, mais j'y ai mis le prix. | It's nice, but I paid for it. |
| Comparaison n'est pas raison. | Comparisons are odious. |
| en faire une affaire d'état | to make a big issue out of it |
| être sur des charbons ardents | to be like a cat on a hot tin roof |
| être un défi stimulant pour qqn | to be a stimulating challenge for someone |
| heureux comme un poisson dans l'eau | as happy as a clam |
| Je n'ai plus un radis. | I haven't got a penny. |
| Les meilleures choses ont une fin. | All good things come to an end. |
| mettre du baume au coeur de quelqu’un | to be a solace to somebody |
| On l'a échappé belle. | We had a narrow escape. |
| prendre son courage à deux mains | to pluck up courage |
| Quand le vin est tiré, il faut le boire. | Once you have started something, you have to see it through. |
| raffoler de | to be crazy about |
| remuer le couteau dans la plaie | to rub salt into the wound |
| réviser les prévisions à la baisse | to revise estimates downwards |
| s'étendre à perte de vue | to stretch as far as the eye can see |
| Si tu veux de la soie, il faut en mettre le prix. | If you want silk, you have to pay for it. |
| Tu as perdu une belle occasion de te taire. | You would have done better to keep quiet. |
| vivre d'amour et d'eau fraîche | to live on love alone |
Speaking Practice 3
A Quick Recap of this Lesson-
Un petit résumé de la leçon
Today we learned about negation and interrogation in compound sentences. Here are some rules to remember about word orders in interro-negation in French:
Sharpen Your Knowledge with Exercises
Exercise 1
Answer the questions about the dialogue.
Responses