"Anyone" in Negation

Aashpreet K.A1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

"Anyone" in Negation

So, as the rule in this lesson states that in Negation we use Ne...Personne instead of N'importe qui for saying 'anyone' ...so, should it be? - 

- Elle ne fait personne confiance. [She does not trust anyone.] Because the negation surrounds the main conjugated verb?

Asked 7 months ago
Christian H.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

Correct, you need to use "personne" in this case but you have to change the sentence slightly for it to be correct (it is "faire confiance à q.n.")

"Elle ne fait confiance à personne"

"Because the negation surrounds the main conjugated verb?": You cannot just use "personne" just in place of "pas", if that is what you mean.

https://progress.lawlessfrench.comNe ... personne = No one/nobody (French Negations)

Chris W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

Just to complement Christian's answer:

Personne and rien are not merely negation particles they also function as pronouns and hence can replace either the subject, the direct object or an indirect object:

Personne ne m'aime! -- Nobody loves me! (subject)
Je n'aime personne! -- I love nobody (direct object)
Tu ne parles à personne. -- You don't talk to anybody (indirect object)

Aashpreet K.A1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Thanks a lot for these explanations, Christian and Chris!

"Anyone" in Negation

So, as the rule in this lesson states that in Negation we use Ne...Personne instead of N'importe qui for saying 'anyone' ...so, should it be? - 

- Elle ne fait personne confiance. [She does not trust anyone.] Because the negation surrounds the main conjugated verb?

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