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Ne ... personne = No one/nobody (French Negations)

Written by Qualified French Expert Aurélie Drouard HKH, Licence d'anglais LLCE
Last updated: 2023-02-15
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In French, to express not ... anyone, you use a specific negative structure: ne ... personne.

Negative sentences with "ne ... personne" in French

Look at these negative sentences:

Je ne vois personne.I see no one.
I don't see anyone.

Il n'entend personne.He hears no one.
He doesn't hear anyone

Je ne sors avec personne.I don't date anyone.

Ma soeur n'aime personne.My sister doesn't like anyone.

Just as the construction ne… pas is used to negate a sentence, use ne...personne to express no one / not anyone.

ATTENTION:

Personne on its own means ''no one'', but une personne means a person!
Qui est là ? - Personne.Who's there? -Nobody.

 

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Examples and resources

Je ne vois personne.I see no one.
I don't see anyone.
Il n'entend personne.He hears no one.
He doesn't hear anyone
Ma soeur n'aime personne.My sister doesn't like anyone.
Je ne sors avec personne.I don't date anyone.
On ne reconnaît personne.We don't recognise anybody.
We recognise nobody.
Qui est là ? - Personne.Who's there? -Nobody.
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