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:
- aucun/e ne is always followed by singular in French (even though in modern English, none of them are is sometimes considered acceptable)
- aucun/aucune agree in gender with the object it refers to
- 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.
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
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
neville
Kwiziq community member
20 March 2019
1 reply
More on personne vs aucun
R.e. this question:
Tous les gosses y vont, mais ________ prend le train.
User "Lolli" in Jan 2018 asked if "personne ne" would also be correct in this sentence (in addition to the "correct" answer of "aucun ne"). I think that in spoken conversation, "personne ne" would be acceptable and convey equivalent meaning. There hasn't yet been a definitive response as to whether "personne ne" is acceptable grammatically.
Can anyone provide definitive guidance on this?
(Maybe the kwiziq website logic can't accommodate unanticipated responses?)
Chris
Kwiziq community member
21/03/19
In my understanding, "personne ne" also is a statement about people not in the group, whereas "aucun/e" refers to the people in the group only.
Tous les gosses y vont, mais personne ne prend le train. -- All the guys go there, but no one took the train. (Not even people apart from the "guys").
Tous les gosses y vont, mais aucun ne prend le train. -- All the guys go there, but none (of them) took the train.
William
Kwiziq community member
23 January 2019
1 reply
Avec + aucun d'entre eux
Can I use "avec aucun d'entre eux"
For example
I refused to share the money with any of them. J'ai refusé de partager l'argent avec aucun d'entre eux.
Chris
Kwiziq community member
23/01/19
That sounds right to me.
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
9/01/19
Bonjour Belinda,
Thanks for your comment. The "none of them is/are" debate is beyond the scope of our site, but if you do a search, you can see that many grammar experts offer examples where "are" is correct.
We're so glad you find Kwiziq useful, bonne continuation !
Cécile
Kwiziq language super star
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!
Chris
Kwiziq community member
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
14/05/18
Hi Dragana,
Indeed as Chris says the verb agrees with 'aucun' and not 'livres' ...
Hope this helps!
Laura
Kwiziq language super star
2/02/18
Bonjour Margolit,
Je n'ai ni fils ni frère.
Chris
Kwiziq community member
11/01/18
-- Chris (not a native speaker).
Ron
Kwiziq community member
26/08/17
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
29/08/17
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 !
Aurélie
Kwiziq language super star
1/05/17
John
Kwiziq community member
24 May 2019
5 replies
Question about "De tous les mensonges que tu as dit, aucun n'est crédible"
Translated as: "Out of all the lies you told, none is believable."
Is this French example used simply to illustrate French grammar?
Because as a statement of logic, the statement is nonsense. The second half of the statement is superfluous. Lies are ipso facto not credible (that is the nature of a lie). So of course 100% of the time they are not credible.
As an analogy, no one would say: "Out of all the green marbles you gave me, none is orange."
If instead you said: "Out of all the statements you told, none is believable" (or correct in French: "De tous les choses que tu as dit, aucun n'est crédible"?) or "Out of all the marbles you gave me, none is orange", these full sentences have logical meaning.
Chris
Kwiziq community member
28 May 2019
28/05/19
Well, to me this statement is logically OK. To be credible doesn't mean to be true. So a lie can be credible and still be a lie.
John
Kwiziq community member
28 May 2019
28/05/19
Yes, I agree. If we have no foreknowledge of the lie.
But here the speaker knows (i.e., has foreknowledge that) all the statements are lies, as s/he says: "Out of all the lies you told, none is believable."
Statements (the truth or falsity of which have not been verified or are unknown) are credible.
Lies when known to be lies are never credible. It's a logical impossibility.
If for some cultural language reason you wish to tell me this sentence in French is acceptable I will accept your assertion. But if instead you are insisting that, at least with respect to the English, it's logical, I am sorry but you are wrong.
Alan
Kwiziq community member
28 May 2019
28/05/19
I might know that what you have said is a lie, but that doesn't mean that everyone knows. I can still have an opinion as to whether the lie is believable to other people.
John
Kwiziq community member
28 May 2019
28/05/19
Yes, true, but the context here does not readily lend itself to the possibility of the presence of other people.
The speaker says "you" so is obviously speaking only to the person(s) who told the lies.
The key point here is that the speaker has foreknowledge of the lies. Once foreknowledge is introduced the statement is not logical.
If instead the speaker said: "Out of all the lies you told, none was ever believable," the context changes. Now the speaker is indicating two things, albeit vaguely: 1) there was a point in time when the lies may not have been known to be lies and appeared credible and 2) all statements are now known to be lies.
But I'm sure Lawless French wants to provide it's students with simple, logical grammar points. Not examples that contain some abstract or tortured meaning
Alan
Kwiziq community member
28 May 2019
28/05/19
"Believable" is a hypothetical judgement - could a reasonable person believe it. It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not, or whether you know it's untrue, the question is whether it's plausible.