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Advanced Negation & Register

ne...que and spoken French

ne ... que = 'only'

A restriction, not a true negative.

💬 Examples
Je n'ai qu'un euro.
I only have one euro.
📝 ne ... que = only
Il ne mange que des légumes.
He eats only vegetables.
📝 Restriction, not negation
Combining negatives

ne...plus rien, ne...rien, ne...personne.

📊 Negative expressions
Expression Meaning
ne...pas not
ne...jamais never
ne...plus no longer
ne...rien nothing
ne...personne nobody
ne...que only
💬 Examples
Je ne vois personne.
I see nobody.
📝 ne ... personne
Il ne fait plus rien.
He no longer does anything.
📝 Stacked negatives
Dropping ne in casual speech

Spoken French often omits ne (keep it in writing).

💬 Examples
Je sais pas.
I dunno.
📝 ne dropped in casual speech
C'est pas grave.
It's no big deal.
📝 Informal; full form is 'ce n'est pas'