Posted by Aurélie Drouard

In: Level A1, Negative Words & Constructions, Forme négative, Question/Interrogative

Questions on this lesson: 4

In most cases, we use oui (yes) and non (no) in French the same way as in English.

However, if someone asks you a negative question or makes a negative statement and you want to disagree with it (i.e. answer in the positive) then use si instead of oui.
 
Here are some examples:

Summary:

- Use Oui  to answer "yes" to positive questions/statements

- Use Si  to answer "yes" to negative questions/statements 

Note that non is always the same whether you are agreeing or disagreeing:

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GregA2Kwiziq community member

I did say Oui. The system thought I said Qui

Asked 9 months ago

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CécileKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

Hi Greg, 

If that was in a quiz you will need to re-post using the 'Report it' button in your Correction Board as it links to the specific quiz and could then be answered....

Like09 months ago

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Greg asked:View original

I did say Oui. The system thought I said Qui

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DonC1Kwiziq community member

What about sentences that end with "non."

In this context, is a sentence that ends with "non" (like "Tu as faim, non ?") considered a positive or negative question? I am guessing it is positive, and that an affirmative answer would be made with "oui" instead of "si."

Asked 2 years ago

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RonC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Bonjour Don, Je suis d'accord avec vous. Le «non» fait la phrase interrogative; pourtant, Tu as faim est affirmative. J'espère que ma réponse vous aiderait. Bonne chance et bonne continuation dans vos études en français, la langue de Molière et qui a été utilisé par le monde français depuis l’époque d’Hugues Capet

Like02 years ago

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Don asked:View original

What about sentences that end with "non."

In this context, is a sentence that ends with "non" (like "Tu as faim, non ?") considered a positive or negative question? I am guessing it is positive, and that an affirmative answer would be made with "oui" instead of "si."

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