← French Foundations

Unit 2 · Lesson 4

Simple Sentences

Build your first real French sentences, and learn how to make them negative with ne…pas.

The formula

Positive: Subject + Verb + Object

Negative: Subject + ne + Verb + pas

Example

Je parle français.

I speak French.

Je ne parle pas anglais.

I don't speak English.

Positive sentences

Five examples, Subject + Verb + Object.

Positive sentences

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French

Je parle français.

tap to flip

English

I speak French.

Subject (je) + verb (parle) + object (français). Same order as English: no rearranging needed for simple statements.

0 of 5 learned

Negation: ne…pas

Flip these to see how ne…pas wraps the verb.

Negative sentences

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French

Je ne parle pas anglais.

tap to flip

English

I don't speak English.

Formula: ne + [verb] + pas. Ne goes before the verb, pas goes after: they 'sandwich' the verb.

0 of 4 learned

Positive vs. negative

Match each French sentence to its English translation.

Sentence matching

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Click a French word, then click its English match.

Fill in the blank

Complete each sentence, some are negative, some positive.

Sentence completion

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Hint: I don't like (ne…pas + aimer, vowel!)

Jepas le café.

I don't like coffee.

Quick quiz

Four questions on sentence structure.

Sentences quiz

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Which is the correct negative of 'Je mange'?

You can build sentences, and break them with negation.

Test yourself on subject pronouns, être, avoir, and sentence structure before moving on.