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French grammar - Using pas without ne

Using pas without ne

The negative particle pas can be used without ne to negate adjectives, adverbs, nouns, and pronouns.

But in these cases the sentence is abbreviated by dropping a verb. This missing verb would otherwise be bracketed with the ne..pas.

Examples:
Elle doit être malheureuse ! Pas malheureuse, mais pas contente, oui.
She must be unhappy! Not unhappy, but not pleased.

Negating an adjective

The full sentence would be Il n'est pas malheureux…

C'est un gars pas sympathique.
He's not a nice guy.

Negating an adjective

The full sentence would be ...qui n'est pas sympathique.

Pas gentil, ça.
That's not nice.

Negating an adjective

The full sentence would be Ça, ce n'est pas gentil.

Pas possible !
That's not possible!

Negating an adjective

The full sentence would be Ce n'est pas possible.

Vas-tu boire de la bière ? Oui mais pas beaucoup.
Are you (familiar) going to drink beer? Yes, but not much.

Negating an adjective

The full sentence would be Je n'en veux pas beaucoup.

Pas bête, ça.
Not stupid, that.

Negating an adjective

An expression usually used in reference to a suggestion or idea

bête (adj) means 'stupid'

Ça va ? Pas mal.
How are you? Not bad.

Negating an adverb

Pourquoi pas ?
Why not?

Negating an adverb

Pas comme ça !
Not like that!

Negating an adverb

Pas si vite !
Not so fast!

Negating an adverb

Pas souvent, pas encore, pas trop.
Not often; not yet; not too much.

Negating an adverb

Elle va venir aujourd'hui ? Non, pas aujourd'hui. Demain, en fait.
Is she going to come today? No, not today. Tomorrow actually.

Negating a noun

Elle a deux oncles, pas trois.
She has two uncles, not three.

Negating a noun

Je veux deux pains au chocolat. Pas de pains au chocolat aujourd'hui.
I want two chocolate pastries. No chocolate pastries today.

Negating a noun

Pas de problème !
No problem!

Negating a noun

Qui peut m'aider ? Pas moi !
Who can he me? Not me!

Negating a pronoun

Tu as faim ? Pas du tout !
Are you (familiar) hungry? Not at all!

Negating a pronoun

Ah non, pas ça !
Oh no, not that!

Negating a pronoun

Est-ce que ce cadeau est pour moi ? Non, pas pour toi.
Is this gift for me? No, not for you (familiar).

Negating a pronoun