French Literary Ne - Formal French
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What I call the ne littéraire is the phenomenon in literary writing (and, to a much lesser extent, spoken French) whereby certain verbs and constructions need ne but not pas in order to be negative. The use of pas in these constructions is not prohibited, simply optional.
The ne littéraire is used with seven verbs:
Cesser, oser, and pouvoir never need pas.
Il ne cesse de parler.
He never stops talking.
Je n'ose le regarder.
I don't dare watch it.
Elle ne peut venir avec nous.
She can't come with us.
Bouger, daigner, and manquer may be used without pas, but this is less common than with the above verbs.
Il ne bouge depuis 8 heures.
He hasn't moved in 8 hours.
Elle n'a daigné répondre.
She didn't deign to respond.
Ils ne manquèrent de se plaindre.
They didn't fail to complain.
The seventh verb, savoir, is a special case. It doesn't need pas when it
1) means "to be uncertain"
Je ne sais si c'est juste.
I don't know if it's fair.
2) is in the conditional
Je ne saurais t'aider.
I wouldn't know how to help you.
3) is used with a interrogative word
Je ne sais quoi faire.
I don't know what to do.
However, savoir does needpas when it means to know a fact or how to do something:
Je ne sais pas la réponse.
I don't know the answer.
Il ne sait pas nager.
He doesn't know how to swim.
In addition, the ne littéraire may be used with just about any verb in si clauses:
J'y serais allé si je n'avais eu peur.
I would have gone if I hadn't been afraid.
Tu auras faim si tu ne manges.
You'll be hungry if you don't eat.
Ne littéraire can be used with the following expressions related to time plus a compund tense: cela fait (amount of time) que, depuis que, il y a (amount of time) que, voici (amount of time) que, and voilà (amount of time) que.
Cela fait 6 mois que nous ne nous étions vus.
We hadn't seen each other in 6 months
Voilà longtemps qu'il n'a travaillé.
He hasn't worked in a long time.
And the ne littéraire can also occur in questions:
Qui ne serait triste aujourd'hui ?
Who wouldn't be sad today?
Que ne donnerais-je pour un emploi ?
What wouldn't I give for a job?
Don't mix up the ne littéraire and the ne explétif - they are used with completely different verbs.
What I call the ne littéraire is the phenomenon in literary writing (and, to a much lesser extent, spoken French) whereby certain verbs and constructions need ne but not pas in order to be negative. The use of pas in these constructions is not prohibited, simply optional.
The ne littéraire is used with seven verbs:
Cesser, oser, and pouvoir never need pas.
Il ne cesse de parler.
He never stops talking.
Je n'ose le regarder.
I don't dare watch it.
Elle ne peut venir avec nous.
She can't come with us.
Bouger, daigner, and manquer may be used without pas, but this is less common than with the above verbs.
Il ne bouge depuis 8 heures.
He hasn't moved in 8 hours.
Elle n'a daigné répondre.
She didn't deign to respond.
Ils ne manquèrent de se plaindre.
They didn't fail to complain.
The seventh verb, savoir, is a special case. It doesn't need pas when it
1) means "to be uncertain"
Je ne sais si c'est juste.
I don't know if it's fair.
2) is in the conditional
Je ne saurais t'aider.
I wouldn't know how to help you.
3) is used with a interrogative word
Je ne sais quoi faire.
I don't know what to do.
However, savoir does needpas when it means to know a fact or how to do something:
Je ne sais pas la réponse.
I don't know the answer.
Il ne sait pas nager.
He doesn't know how to swim.
In addition, the ne littéraire may be used with just about any verb in si clauses:
J'y serais allé si je n'avais eu peur.
I would have gone if I hadn't been afraid.
Tu auras faim si tu ne manges.
You'll be hungry if you don't eat.
Ne littéraire can be used with the following expressions related to time plus a compund tense: cela fait (amount of time) que, depuis que, il y a (amount of time) que, voici (amount of time) que, and voilà (amount of time) que.
Cela fait 6 mois que nous ne nous étions vus.
We hadn't seen each other in 6 months
Voilà longtemps qu'il n'a travaillé.
He hasn't worked in a long time.
And the ne littéraire can also occur in questions:
Qui ne serait triste aujourd'hui ?
Who wouldn't be sad today?
Que ne donnerais-je pour un emploi ?
What wouldn't I give for a job?
Don't mix up the ne littéraire and the ne explétif - they are used with completely different verbs.
