Aucun/e … ne = None of them (negation)

In: Level B1, Negative Words & Constructions, Forme négative
Questions: 21

Look at these examples with aucun(e) ... ne:

Les filles sortent ce soir, mais aucune ne prend le train.
The girls are going out tonight, but none (of them) is taking the train.

Aucune de tes robes ne me va.
None of your dresses fits me

Aucun de ses livres n'est intéressant.
None of his books is interesting.

De tous les mensonges que tu as dit, aucun n'est crédible.
Out of all the lies you told, none is believable.

Aucun/aucune ne/n' means none (of them).

This term can refer to both objects and people.

Note three things: 

  1. aucun/e ne is always followed by singular in French (even though in modern English, none of them are is also acceptable) 
  2. aucun/aucune agree in gender with the object it refers to
  3. You have to use the negation ne/n' unlike in English 

We can also express none of them using aucun d'entre eux ne ... / aucune d'entre elles ne ..., like this:

Aucun d'entre eux n'est intéressant. 
Aucune d'entre elles n'est intéressante.
None of them is interesting.

 

 

aucun/e means none, rien means nothing!
See also Ne ... aucun(e) = None (negation)

Learn more about these related French grammar topics

Forme négative

Examples and resources

De tous les mensonges que tu as dit, aucun n'est crédible.
Out of all the lies you told, none is believable.

Aucun de ses livres n'est intéressant.
None of his books is interesting.

Aucun d'entre eux n'est intéressant. 
Aucune d'entre elles n'est intéressante.
None of them is interesting.

Les filles sortent ce soir, mais aucune ne prend le train.
The girls are going out tonight, but none (of them) is taking the train.

Aucune de tes robes ne me va.
None of your dresses fits me

Q&A

John

Kwiziq community member

19 June 2018

1 reply

"d'entre eux"

often refers to people. example: trois d'entre eux sont interessants as opposed to "trois d'elles". With aucun "d'entre eux" refers to both people and things?

Cécile

Kwiziq language super star

21 June 2018

21/06/18

Hi John,

Yes you can use aucun d'entre eux for things too.

e.g.

Ces bâtiments sont bien, mais aucun d'entre eux n'ont le haut-débit.

(These buildings are good but none of them have broadband.)

Ces modèles de voiture sont bien équipés mais aucun d'entre eux n'ont la clim.

(These car models are well equipped but none of them have air con.)

Hope this helps!

Dragana

Kwiziq community member

13 May 2018

2 replies

Aucun de ses livres n'est intéressant? why not ne sont intéressant - books/plural

Aucun de ses livres n'est intéressant? why not ne sont intéressant - livres/books is plural

Chris

Kwiziq community member

13 May 2018

13/05/18

Hi Dragana,

Aucun is singular and functions as the subject of the sentence, hence the verb needs to match the singular and therefore it is "est" and not "sont".

-- Chris (not a native speaker).

Cécile

Kwiziq language super star

14 May 2018

14/05/18

Hi Dragana,

Indeed as Chris says the verb agrees with 'aucun' and not 'livres' ...

Hope this helps!

Margolit

Kwiziq community member

2 February 2018

1 reply

How do you say "I have neither a son nor a brother." ?

Laura

Kwiziq language super star

2 February 2018

2/02/18

Bonjour Margolit,

Je n'ai ni fils ni frère.

Lolli

Kwiziq community member

10 January 2018

1 reply

Ont-ils répondu ? - Oui. ________ n'est intéressé.

Why is "personne" incorrect when we know we are referring to people in this question?

Chris

Kwiziq community member

11 January 2018

11/01/18

I don't think "personne" is incorrect. It's just that in the context of this lesson you are supposed to use "aucun".

-- Chris (not a native speaker).

Sush

Kwiziq community member

26 August 2017

2 replies

personne and aucun(e)--transferable or not

can I not say personne n'est venu or aucun n'est venu

Ron

Kwiziq community member

26 August 2017

26/08/17

Bonjour Sush, «personne n'est venu» translates to no one came, on the other hand «aucun n'est venu» translates to none came I get the sense from the nuance difference, the answer would like in the contextual scenario of the two phrases. Bonne chance,

Aurélie

Kwiziq language super star

29 August 2017

29/08/17

Bonjour Sush !

Personne always refers to a person (no one, nobody) whereas aucun/e can refer to any noun that has been previously mentioned (none / no [noun]) :)

Bonne journée !

Meghna

Kwiziq community member

30 April 2017

1 reply

Aucun/e and personne

Can you help understand better when either is used? With examples perhaps?

Aurélie

Kwiziq language super star

1 May 2017

1/05/17

Bonjour Meghna ! "Personne" means "no one / nobody": "Je n'ai entendu personne." (I heard no one. / I haven't heard anyone.) "Aucun/e" means "none": "Je n'ai entendu aucune des filles." (I heard none of the girls. / I haven't heard any of the girls.) "Aucun" always needs a referent noun (none [of something]): "Je n'*en* ai aucun." (I have none *of them*.) I hope that's helpful! À bientôt !

Stuart

Kwiziq community member

7 August 2016

1 reply

Is the aucun d'entre eux alternative translatable as none 'between then'?

I'm just trying to work out how to remember it :)

Laura

Kwiziq language super star

7 August 2016

7/08/16

Bonjour Stuart, If you mean "can you say 'none between them' " in English, the answer is no. If that helps you remember, great, but you can't say that in English.

Jennifer

Kwiziq community member

21 July 2016

2 replies

Aucune ne versus aucune d'elles

In the question 1.Alors, est-ce qu'elles viennent? - Non. ___ est intéressée. (So, are they coming? - No. None of them is interested.) why is aucune d'elles n' incorrect?

Aurélie

Kwiziq language super star

21 July 2016

21/07/16

Bonjour Jennifer ! You are correct, "Aucune d'elles n'est intéressée" is also correct. The question has been rectified to accept this answer. Merci beaucoup et à bientôt !

Jennifer

Kwiziq community member

21 July 2016

21/07/16

Bonjour Aurélie, Merci pour votre réponse

Andy

Kwiziq community member

6 February 2016

1 reply

Adjective, pronoun or both?

May I check? In this lesson, in different examples I believe aucun/e ... ne is used both as a negative adjective and as a variable negative pronoun? Is this correct?

Laura

Kwiziq language super star

7 February 2016

7/02/16

Bonjour Andy, No, I'm afraid not - all of the examples in this lesson use aucun(e) as a variable French negative pronoun. Here's an example of aucun(e) as a negative adjective: Aucune fille n'est venue. We know aucune is an adjective because it's followed directly by a noun, in comparison to Aucune des filles n'est venue.

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