"Je crains que vous ne conduisiez trop vite" - why the "ne"

Benjamin B.C1KwizIQ community member

"Je crains que vous ne conduisiez trop vite" - why the "ne"

Hello,

I am just wondering why the "ne" is included in the above mentioned phrase "Je crains que vous ne conduisiez trop vite" whish is translated to "I am worried you are driving too fast"? I thought ne was meant to denote a negative, implying something more like "I am worried you are not driving too fast"?

What am I missing?

Thank you!

Ben

This question relates to:French lesson "Conjugate regular verbs in the subjunctive present in French (Le Subjonctif Présent)"

Asked 4 weeks ago

Like1Answer1

CélineKwizIQ Native French TeacherCorrect answer

Bonjour Benjamin,

This "ne" is what we call "ne explétif". It is not used as a negation but rather to emphasise the negative aspect of what came before it. It is used with Le Subjonctif.

Take a look here:

Ne explétif

I hope this is helpful.

Bonne journée !

Like12 weeks ago

Benjamin B. asked: