Learn how to form negative French phrases using the French particles ne and pas
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| Céline: Bonjour! Je m’appelle Céline. |
| Sylvain: Et moi c’est Sylvain. |
| Sam: Sam, here. "I'm Fed Up." |
| Sam: Bonjour à tous! Hi everybody! What's up guys? |
| Céline: Bonjour, Sam! |
| Sylvain: Bonjour, Sam. |
| Sam: Sylvain! What's wrong? |
| Sylvain: I'm sick. |
| Sam: Really? |
| Céline: Oh. |
| Sylvain: Yeah, yeah. My nose is-- I don't know how to say it in English. “bouché” My nose is “bouché”. Mon nez est bouché. |
| Sam: Does your nose hurt? Is it runny? |
| Sylvain: No, no. I'm using the pepper. |
| Sam: Ah. Your nose is stuffy. |
| Sylvain: Yes. |
| Céline: Shall we throw him out? |
| Sam: Throw him out? That's a bit much. |
| Sylvain: I want to be paid! Let me work! |
| Sam: That's a bit much. You can stay, but just don't make us sick. Ok? |
| Céline: Voilà! Ok. Et toi Sam comment tu vas? |
| Sam: How am I? Actually, I'm not ok. |
| Céline: Qu’est-ce qui se passe Sam? What's the deal, Sam? |
| Sam: I'm fed up. |
| Céline: Why? |
| Sam: My computer doesn't work. |
| Céline: Mince! |
| Sam: Oh, shucks. |
| Céline: I'm sorry to tell you, Sam, but that's a good thing, because it's the topic of today's lesson: "I'm Fed Up." |
| Sylvain: And I'm sick. Not much participating but sick… |
| Céline: Ok so, I think you're fed up, and you're sick and you don't want to talk. So today's conversation takes place at the train station and things are not going well. |
| Sylvain: The conversation will take place between Robert and Julie. I will be Robert. |
| Céline: And I will be Julie. Sam, you'll be the train station employee. |
| Sam: Ok. |
| Céline: Here we go. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Sam: Attention, Mesdames et Messieurs. Le train de Nice a une heure de retard. |
| Céline: Ça va? |
| Sylvain: Non. J’en ai marre! |
| Céline: Oh là, là. Ça ne va pas! |
| Sylvain: Non pas du tout! |
| Sam: Let's try that again, slowly. |
| Céline: Ça va? |
| Sylvain: Non. J’en ai marre! |
| Céline: Oh là, là. Ça ne va pas! |
| Sylvain: Non pas du tout! |
| Sam: Now let's hear that with the English. |
| Céline: Ça va? Are you ok? |
| Sylvain: Non. J’en ai marre! No, I’m fed up. |
| Céline: Oh là, là. Ça ne va pas! Ooh la la. You’re not well. |
| Sylvain: Non pas du tout! No, not at all. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sylvain: Actually, I'm not surprised that the train is late. |
| Sam: What do you mean? |
| Sylvain: Trains are usually late in France. |
| Céline: Yes, but SNCF is getting better. |
| Sam: Yeah, I remember when I was in France. I rode on the famous TGV. By the way, what does TGV mean? |
| Céline: “Train à Grande Vitesse”. Literally, in English, "train of high speed." The fastest in the world. 320 kilometers. |
| Sam: 320 kilometers? Oh, you mean 200 miles an hour! |
| Céline: Oh, oui. |
| Sam: That's fast! Faster than the Shinkansen. |
| Sylvain: Ah, yes. The Japanese bullet train. |
| Céline: So guys, are we ready for the most interesting part of the lesson? |
| Sam: Bien sûr! |
| Sylvain: Yeah. |
| Céline: Ok, let's go to the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Sylvain: Vocab. |
| Sam: Sylvain, first word please. |
| Sylvain: Ça. |
| Sam: It |
| Sylvain: Ça. Ça. |
| Sam: Next word. |
| Céline: Va. |
| Sam: Goes. |
| Céline: Va. Va. |
| Sam: Next word. |
| Sylvain: J'ai |
| Sam: I have. |
| Sylvain: J'ai. J'ai. |
| Sam: Next word. |
| Céline: Allez |
| Sam: Go, "vous" form. |
| Céline: Allez. Allez. |
| Sam: Next word. |
| Sylvain: Bien. |
| Sam: Well. |
| Sylvain: Bien. Bien. |
| Sam: Now let's look at some phrases. First phrase? |
| Céline: Du tout. |
| Sam: At all. |
| Céline: Du tout. Du tout. |
| Sam: Next phrase. |
| Sylvain: Ça va? |
| Sam: Are you ok? |
| Sylvain: Ça va? Ça va? |
| Sam: Next phrase. |
| Céline: Ça ne va pas. |
| Sam: I'm not well. |
| Céline: Ça ne va pas. Ça ne va pas. |
| Sam: Next phrase. |
| Sylvain: Vous n’allez pas bien? |
| Sam: You're not well --- formal. |
| Sylvain: Vous n’allez pas bien? Vous n’allez pas bien? |
| Sam: Next phrase. |
| Céline: Non. J'en ai marre! |
| Sam: No, I'm fed up. |
| Céline: Non. J'en ai marre! Non. J'en ai marre! |
| Sam: Next phrase. |
| Sylvain: Oh là là. |
| Sam: Oh my gosh --- interjection. |
| Sylvain: Oh là là. Oh là là. |
| Sam: Next phrase. |
| Céline: Non, pas du tout. |
| Sam: No, not at all. |
| Céline: Non, pas du tout. Non, pas du tout. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Sam: Let's take a look at the usage of some of the vocab and phrases. |
| Céline: Good idea. And we'll start with the word "va." |
| Sylvain: Actually, it's third person singular conjugation. |
| Sam: It's the third person singular conjugation? |
| Sylvain: Of the verb aller. |
| Sam: Oh! Ok, I see. |
| Sylvain: To go. |
| Sam: So basically, he goes, she goes, it goes. |
| Céline: Exactement. Exactly. |
| Sylvain: Il va, elle va, c’est ça. Mais in her, example we have "ça va" |
| Sam: Ok… |
| Sylvain: literally meaning "does it go?" but the meaning is "Are you ok?" |
| Sam: So "ça va” literally means “it goes,” but when you ask this question, you’re really saying, “How do you feel?” |
| Céline: Yeah. Exactly. |
| Sylvain: That’s right. |
| Céline: So, Sam, Comment ça va? |
| Sam: How am I? I’m well. Ça va. |
| Céline: Sylvain? Comment ça va? |
| Sylvain: Ca va pas des masses. Ca va. Ca va pas. |
| Sam: You’re not well! Why? |
| Sylvain: I’m sick. I already... |
| Sam: Sorry. I forgot. |
| Sylvain: Sorry. I’m not really present. |
| Sam: So in French, you can say “Comment ça va,” or “ça va.” Literally means, “How it goes,” but in English we say “How’s it going?” |
| Céline: D’accord. So next word? |
| Sam: How about “oh là là?” I love “oh là là.” |
| Sylvain: But the tone of “oh là là” is really important. The way you say it. |
| Sam: What do you mean? |
| Céline: Ok. Example. Oh là là. Sam, tu es sexy. Oh là là, Sam. You’re sexy. |
| Sam: Merci, Céline. |
| Céline: Ok so that was the positive meaning. Now, Sylvain, the negative meaning? |
| Sylvain: Oh là là, Céline. Tu n’es pas gentille. |
| Sam: Céline’s not nice? Really? |
| Céline: Pfff, n’importe quoi! |
| Sam: That doesn’t make any sense. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Céline: Exactement. Merci, Sam. And today’s grammar point will focus on making a negative phrase using “ne pas” In English, not. |
| Sam: In English, not. So if you want to make a negative phrase in French in the present tense, you’ll need the word “ne,” the verb conjugation, and “pas.” So let’s see some examples. Sylvain? |
| Sylvain: Je vais au cinéma. |
| Sam: I’m going to the cinema. |
| Sylvain: Je ne vais pas au cinéma. |
| Sam: I’m not going to the cinema. In our next example, we’ll see the verb “être,” “to be,” but we’re also going to see an adjective. So pay attention to the negative form of “être” with an adjective. |
| Céline: Je suis contente. |
| Sam: I’m happy. |
| Céline: Je ne suis pas contente. |
| Sam: I’m not happy. Oh, ok. So you used “ne,” verb conjugation, and “pas” in order to make this structure. Correct? |
| Céline: Yes, correct. But if the verb begins with a vowel, it’s “ n’” and “pas.” Example, Sylvain? |
| Sylvain: J’aime le chocolat. |
| Sam: I like chocolate. |
| Sylvain: Je n’aime pas le chocolat. |
| Sam: I don’t like chocolate. It’s pretty simple. |
| Céline: Yes, but attention! When speaking, French people tend to drop the “ne” sometimes. |
| Sam: Let’s practice that. |
| Céline: Qu’est-ce qui se passe Sylvain? |
| Sam: What’s wrong, Sylvain? |
| Céline: Ca va pas? |
| Sam: Are you ok? |
| Sylvain: Euh non ça va pas. |
| Sam: You’re not in a good mood? |
| Sylvain: I’m sick. |
| Céline: Tu es triste? |
| Sam and Céline: Are you sad? |
| Sylvain: Non je suis pas triste. No, I’m not sad. |
| Sam: In conversations, you’ll notice that the “ne” is pronounced “n’” Sylvain, can you give us an example with that pronunciation? |
| Sylvain: Je n’suis pas là. |
| Sam: “I’m not here.” |
| Céline: So, see. “Je n’suis pas là” instead of “je ne suis pas là”. |
| Sam: Well that’s the end of our lesson. Thank you, Sylvain. |
| Sylvain: A bientôt tout le monde! |
| Céline: À bientôt, Sylvain. |
| Sylvain: Oh là là! |
| Céline: Take care. Soigne-toi. |
| Sylvain: Oui. |
Outro |
| Sam: See you guys next time. Oh. We’re forgetting something. |
| Céline: What? |
| Sam: Well, if they have questions or comments. |
| Céline: Oh, yes. |
| Sam: What should they do? |
| Céline: Mince! |
| Sylvain: Oui, oui, oui, oui! |
| Céline: So, what should they do? I don’t know. Sam? |
| Sam: Maybe they can go to FrenchPod101.com. |
| Céline: Yes. |
| Sam: And they can leave a question or comment in our forum. They can also look at the supplementary materials from today’s lesson. |
| Céline: And study your verbs, too. |
| Sylvain: Oui, oui, la conjugaison c’est très important. |
| Sam: Of course. Conjugations are very important. |
| Sylvain: Vital! |
| Céline: Ok. |
| Sam: So, until the next time, bye-bye. |
| Céline: Bye-bye. I want to say “bisou”. |
| Sam: See you. |
| Sylvain: bisou ouais. |
| Sam: Bisou! |
| Céline: Bisou! |
Easily master this lesson’s grammar points with in-depth explanations and examples. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Comments
Hide