Sentence formulations

PoojaA2Kwiziq community member

Sentence formulations

In the example, "Elle n'est pas stupide du tout!", "stupide" is used as an adjective.

However, the formulation given above says: ne + conjugated verb + pas du tout + (infinitive)

Can someone clarify this please. 

Asked 2 years ago
ChrisC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

Ne..pas du tout works just like an ordinary negation to which "du tout" has been added for emphasis. Therefore, it works pretty much with anything:

Elle n'aime pas du tout courir -- She doesn't like running at all (with infinitive).
Elle n'aime pas du tout le chocolat. -- She doesn't like chocolate at all (with noun).
Elle n'est pas du tout stupide. -- She isn't stupid at all (with adjective).

ChrisC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

You can use both versions:

Elle n'est pas stupide du tout! Or: Elle n'est pas du tout stupide.

PoojaA2Kwiziq community member

Thanks Chris for the response. However, my query was with regards to meaning of "infinitive" here. I understand that it is the infinitive form of the verb. However, there are examples where adjectives have been used and there is no infinitive. 

JimC1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

Hi Pooja,

Further to Chris's post  --  You will see that the infinitive is bracketed indicating an option, so were it to be that an infinitive was appropriate it would appear as suggested in the lesson.

Hope this clarifies your point / query.

Jim

PoojaA2Kwiziq community member

Thanks Chris and Jim. This gives a lot of clarity :)

Sentence formulations

In the example, "Elle n'est pas stupide du tout!", "stupide" is used as an adjective.

However, the formulation given above says: ne + conjugated verb + pas du tout + (infinitive)

Can someone clarify this please. 

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