Combining two or more negations (French Negations)

Written by Qualified French Expert Aurélie Drouard HKH, Licence d'anglais LLCE

Last updated: 2023-01-25

Whilst it's considered bad English to use double negatives, in French double negatives are the correct form in some combinations.

Learn how to make multiple negations in French

Look at these cases:

Je n'ai jamais rien dit !I never said anything! / I didn't say anything, ever!

Vous n'avez rien dit à personne.You didn't say anything to anyone

Nous ne faisons jamais rien.We never do anything

On ne va jamais nulle part !We never go anywhere!

Note that you can mix jamais, rien, personne and nulle part (never, nothing, no one, nowhere) with each other.

Note: jamais always comes before rien, personne or nulle part.

You can also use any of those with ne ... plus (not anymore / not again):
plus jamais
OR
jamais plus

plus rien
plus personne
plus nulle part
(for the last three, plus always comes first)

Je ne ferai plus jamais ça !
Je ne ferai jamais plus ça !I will never do that again!

Je ne reconnais plus personne.I don't recognise anyone anymore.

Ils ne mangent plus rien.They don't eat anything anymore.

Vous n'allez plus nulle part.You don't go anywhere anymore.

ATTENTION:

You CANNOT mix ne... pas/guère/point (not, hardly, at all) with rien, jamais, personne or nulle part.

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Forme négative

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