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Negative words that replace 'pas'

When learning to make sentences negative in French, you quickly get used to putting ne and pas around the verb. But what happens when you want to say things like "never", "nothing", or "nobody"? English speakers often try to squeeze these ideas in alongside the standard negative words.

In French, words like jamais, rien, and personne step in to do the heavy lifting themselves. In simple negative statements, they actually replace pas entirely.

Word list
jamaisA1 never ne ... jamais = never personneA1 no one ne ... personne = no one, nobody rienA1 nothing ne ... rien = nothing nulle partB1 nowhere ne ... nulle part = nowhere (in no place) nulle partB1 nowhere ne ... nulle part = nowhere, to no place
How it works

In a basic negative sentence, you place ne before the verb and pas after it. When you introduce a specific negative word like jamais or rien, you keep the ne but you must drop the pas. The new negative word takes its place.

Elle ne mange jamais de viande.
(She never eats meat.)

Using both pas and a negative word like jamais in the same standard sentence is a very common trap for beginners. Just remember that one negative partner is usually enough to complete the pair.

The words in action

Let us look at the most common negative words that follow this rule. First, rien means "nothing".

Il n'y a rien à faire.
(There's nothing to do.)

The word personne translates to "nobody" or "no one".

Je ne connais personne ici.
(I don't know anyone here.)
Je ne vois personne.
(I don't see anyone.)

Finally, nulle part is used to express "nowhere".

Je ne vais nulle part.
(I am going nowhere.)
Watch out for subjects and special expressions

Unlike pas, the words personne and rien can also act as the subject of the sentence. When they start the sentence, the ne still goes right before the verb.

Personne ne le sait.
(No one knows it.)

While these words normally replace pas, you might occasionally see them together in specific expressions that play with double negatives or which words they affect. For example, ce n'est pas rien means "it is not nothing" (implying it is actually quite significant). However, for everyday negative sentences, the rule is to keep them apart.

Finally, you will eventually encounter other common words that replace pas, such as plus (no longer), aucun (none), and guère (hardly). They follow the exact same pattern.

Summary

To say "never", "nothing", "nobody", or "nowhere" in a standard negative sentence, use ne with your specific negative word and leave out pas entirely. These words are strong enough to carry the negative meaning on their own.