ne...rien vs. ne...pas du tout

Question

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.

Chris Wirt · Accepted Answer

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.

Jinn Xu · Answer

Got it. Thank you.

Jameson Lee-Yaw · Answer

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 Wirt · Answer

Hi Jameson,Grammatically, your answer is correct. It just doesn‘t really fit with the question very well.