...sans que je n'aie jamais...

Question

I am looking at this sentence - 'Toi qui me faisais sauter sur tes genoux pendant des heures sans que je n'aie jamais l'impression de t'ennuyer' - and wondering about the n' before the jamais. He is saying 'without me ever feeling', not 'without me never feeling'.

Accepted Answer

That's a ne explétif. Look here for an explanation of sans que and further down for a link to a lesson on the ne explétif: https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/how-to-use-sans-que-with-or-without-ne-expletif-subjonctif-without-you-doing

Answer

Thank you Chris!

Answer

But according to the lesson Chris linked to, you should only use the ne explétif when the main verb is in the negative, so whatever type of ne it is, it's still wrong, I think.

Answer

Yes, the use of the ne explétif in this context is incorrect according to l‘Académie Français. It is a strange ne because it’s not a logical part of the negation either. Maybe it’s triggered by the use of jamais even though it’s not a proper negation?

Answer

Yes, it's possible that the writer included it because of the jamais, but according to l'Académie française, that's also incorrect.