Susan asked: "Isn't "de" used after negative expressions instead of "des"?

AurélieKwiziq team member

Susan asked: "Isn't "de" used after negative expressions instead of "des"?

"Il n'a mangé que des bonbons." (He only ate sweets.)
Asked 7 years ago
AurélieKwiziq team memberCorrect answer
Bonjour Susan !

The reason this rule doesn't apply here, is that "ne...que" is more of a restrictive figure than a negative one, meaning that the object is not down to zero as with other negative expressions ("ne...pas", "ne...plus", etc).

I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
Susan C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Completely helpful. Merci!

Susan asked: "Isn't "de" used after negative expressions instead of "des"?

"Il n'a mangé que des bonbons." (He only ate sweets.)

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