For the question, Je sens quelque chose, et toi ? - Non, je ..., can I also say 'No, je ne sens pas du tout? ' What are differences between ne...rien and pas du tout? Thanks.
ne...rien vs. ne...pas du tout
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JinnKwiziq community member
ne...rien vs. ne...pas du tout
This question relates to:French lesson "Ne ... rien = Nothing (negation)"
Asked 2 years ago
Du tout is a way to strengthen the negation. Kind of like the English "at all" would.
Je ne sens rien. -- I feel/smell nothing.
Je ne sens rien du tout. -- I feel/smell nothing at all.
Je ne sens pas du tout. -- I don't feel/smell at all.
Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Chris' answer is as usual topnotch. So pardon this nagging feeling! Could a strict teacher justifiably mark me wrong if I answered Jinn's question "Je sens quelque chose, et toi ?" with" Je ne sens pas du tout... because it may show I am mixing up my adverbial (mea culpa here) 'ne VERB pas du tout' with the negative pronoun ne rien (to stand in for quelque chose).
Chris Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
Hi Jameson,
Grammatically, your answer is correct. It just doesn‘t really fit with the question very well.
Jinn asked:View original
ne...rien vs. ne...pas du tout
For the question, Je sens quelque chose, et toi ? - Non, je ..., can I also say 'No, je ne sens pas du tout? ' What are differences between ne...rien and pas du tout? Thanks.
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