ne pas

Brian E.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Why, in “Nous courons pour ne pas manquer notre train.”, do we have “ne pas manquer” and not “ne manquer pas”? I didn’t know that “ne pas” is valid.

Asked 5 years ago

CécileNative French expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hi Brian,

It is because the verb manquer which is in the infinitive so 'ne pas' comes before the verb and is not separated in this case.

Je vous prie de ne pas parler en mangeant = Please do not speak while eating

Ne pas se pencher par la fenêtre = Please don't lean out of the window

take a look at the following Kwiziq lesson for more examples -

Hope this helps!

Like25 years ago

Why, in “Nous courons pour ne pas manquer notre train.”, do we have “ne pas manquer” and not “ne manquer pas”? I didn’t know that “ne pas” is valid.

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