Is ne...point used for also for emphasis?
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Tomas B.Kwiziq community member
Is ne...point used for also for emphasis?
I thought that was one of the uses in oral language.
This question relates to:French lesson "Ne ... point = Not (French Negations)"
Asked 8 years ago
AurélieKwiziq team member
Bonjour Tomas !
My guess here is that you heard this:
"Je ne veux pas. Point." which actually means "I don't want to. Full stop.", and is indeed a form of emphasis.
However, this case has nothing to do with the negative expression "ne...point" :)
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Susan R.Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Tomas and I may have been similarly taught: it was drummed into my head that one used, ne . . . point instead of, ne . . . pas to make a point, so to speak. Given that my French classes were more than 50 years ago, could there have been a change in usage?
Khoi N.Kwiziq community member
I was also taught the same in the '60s. Even my wife who speaks French fluently and went to French schools from kindergarten also thought the "ne .. .point" construct was used to show emphasis. However she said in modern usage that distinction might no longer exists. For whatever it's worth I would like to share the following comment from Word Forum (https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/ne-%E2%80%A6%E2%80%AFpoint-ne-%E2%80%A6-pas.86492/) : " Point est archaïque, effectivement, et on ne l'utilise donc point, sauf par plaisanterie ou pour faire plus littéraire. Ceci dit, si l'on met de côté cet aspect, pas et point me semblent totalement interchangeables. À l'origine, la négation dite avec point était plus forte que celle exprimée avec pas, mais cette distinction n'est plus faite.".
Max K.Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
My understanding has always been that NE POINT is simply an alternative - similar to WHILE versus WHILST. I find NE POINT sort of quaint and seldom hear it in conversation. I rarely see it in contemporary written French. I have never seen NE POINT used for emphasis.
Max K.Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
My first class was in 1963. POINT for emphasis was not taught at any point. Point!
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