I’m having real difficulty pronouncing this sentence and I’m wondering whether in conversation the « ne » is dropped to ease pronunciation.
Look at these sentences:
Je ne me suis pas amusée.
I didn't have fun.
Tu ne t'es pas réveillé à temps.
You didn't wake up on time.
Il ne s'est pas reposé longtemps.
He didn't rest for long.
Elles ne se sont pas rasées cette semaine.
They didn't shave this week.
When using a negative structure like "ne/n'...pas" with reflexive verbs in compound tenses, ne/n' is placed before the reflexive pronoun "me/te/se/nous/vous/se", and pas comes after the conjugated verb être.
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Q&A Forum 3 questions, 4 answers
Hi Karl,
Yes, you can drop the ‘ne’ in conversation and you will rarely hear it pronounced in every day informal speech in France.
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Using reflexives
When using a reflexive verb, e.g., se laver, se lever, se réveiller, etc., I was under the impression that in the second person plural (vous) an "S" was added to the verb in the passé composé. Am I wrong?
Asked 7 years ago
RonCorrect answer
Bonjour Donald,
This seems to me to be a contextual type issue. If «vous» is being used in the formal sense and speaking to one person, then no «-s» would be included; however, on the other hand if it is used in the plural sense, then yes an «-s» would be added. When looking at an example that uses the «nous» form, the «-s» was added to indicate plural.
This seems to me to be a contextual type issue. If «vous» is being used in the formal sense and speaking to one person, then no «-s» would be included; however, on the other hand if it is used in the plural sense, then yes an «-s» would be added. When looking at an example that uses the «nous» form, the «-s» was added to indicate plural.
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How to form a question
by inverting a sentence that is both negative and in a compound tense, please?
Asked 7 years ago
AurélieKwiziq language super star
Bonjour Cheryl !
Let's take this negative statement in Le Passé Composé:
"Tu n'as pas mangé aujourd'hui." (You haven't eaten today.)
In an inverted question, it will become:
"N'as-tu pas mangé aujourd'hui ?"
Also have a look at our lesson on inverted questions in Le Passé Composé:
https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/how-to-form-inverted-questions-in-le-passe-compose-conversational-past
I hope that's helpful!
À bientôt !
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