| Let's look at the sentence pattern. |
| This pattern is the structure that all of our examples will follow. |
| Ne + [Pronoun] + [Imperative Verb] + Pas |
| "Don't [do something to someone/something]" |
| In this pattern, we're giving a negative command—telling someone not to do something. |
| We begin with Ne, which starts the negation. |
| Then we add a pronoun, often to replace a noun already mentioned. |
| In negative commands, object pronouns come before the verb. This is in contrast to positive commands, where object pronouns follow the verb with a hyphen - for example: Lave-les ! (Wash them!). These are the key rules. |
| After that comes the verb in its command form, known as the imperative. This is the form we use to tell someone what to do. |
| And we finish the negative structure with Pas, which completes the negation. |
| Let's see how a line from the dialogue follows this pattern. |
| Ne les mets pas dans le faitout. |
| "Don't put them in the pot." |
| In this sentence: |
| Ne starts the negative command. |
| Les is a pronoun that replaces les pommes de terre, meaning "them." |
| Mets is the imperative form of mettre, meaning "put." |
| Pas finishes the negation. |
| So Ne les mets pas means "Don't put them." |
| Dans le faitout means "in the pot." This tells us where the action should not happen. |
| So, altogether, Ne les mets pas dans le faitout means "Don't put them in the pot." |
| Now you can use this structure anytime you want to clearly tell someone not to do something in French. |
| The sentence D'abord, mets de l'eau dans le faitout. is a positive imperative, used to give a direct instruction—"First, put some water in the stew pot." |
| It uses the imperative form of the verb mettre (mets) without any negation. |
| In positive commands like this, the object—here, de l'eau—usually comes after the verb. |
| In contrast, a negative command follows a specific structure: |
| ne + [pronoun] + [imperative verb] + pas, |
| which is used to tell someone not to do something. |
| For example, Ne les mets pas dans le faitout means "Don't put them in the pot." |
| In this case, the object pronoun les comes before the verb mets, enclosed by ne...pas. |
| Both sentences use the imperative mood, but the presence of ne...pas in the second sentence turns it into a negative command. |
| Now let's look at some speaking examples. |
| Ne le mets pas dans le sac. |
| "Don't put it in the bag." |
| Can you see how the pattern applies here? |
| Let's break it down: |
| Here, Ne begins the negation. It's the first part of the negative structure. |
| Le is the object pronoun, replacing a masculine singular noun—"it." |
| Mets is the imperative form of the verb mettre, "to put." |
| Pas completes the negation. |
| So, Ne le mets pas fits the pattern Ne + [Pronoun] + [Imperative Verb] + Pas, and it means "Don't put it." |
| Dans le sac means "in the bag." It tells us where the action should not happen. |
| Altogether, Ne le mets pas dans le sac means: "Don't put it in the bag." |
| Here's another example |
| Ne l'écris pas dans le livre. |
| "Don't write it in the book." |
| Ne l'écris pas dans le livre. |
| "Don't write it in the book." |
| Let's try one more, |
| Ne la lis pas maintenant. |
| "Don't read it now." |
| Ne la lis pas maintenant. |
| "Don't read it now." |
| Another one. |
| Ne les mets pas sur la table. |
| "Don't put them on the table." |
| Ne les mets pas sur la table. |
| "Don't put them on the table." |
| One last example. |
| Ne l'efface pas du tableau. |
| "Don't erase it from the board." |
| Ne l'efface pas du tableau. |
| "Don't erase it from the board." |
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