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Ne ... point = Not (French Negations)

Written by Qualified French Expert Aurélie Drouard HKH, Licence d'anglais LLCE
Last updated: 2022-10-24
18 questions

In French, one way of making a negative statement is to use ne ... point.

Negative sentences with "ne ... point" in French

Look at these expressions using ne...point (not):

Il n’est point poli comme son frère.He's not polite like his brother.

Je ne lui ai point révélé mon secret.I didn't reveal my secret to him.

Les plus âgées n'étaient point les plus raisonnables.The eldest ones were not the most sensible.

The negation ne... point is an old-fashioned way to say ne ... pas (not). It is used mostly in the written form, as it sounds very formal nowadays. 

 

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Examples and resources

Les plus âgées n'étaient point les plus raisonnables.The eldest ones were not the most sensible.
Il n’est point poli comme son frère.He's not polite like his brother.
Je ne lui ai point révélé mon secret.I didn't reveal my secret to him.
Il n'y a point de déguisement qui puisse longtemps cacher l'amour où il est, ni le feindre où il n'est pas.
(François de la Rochefoucauld)There is no disguise that can long hide love where it is, or feign it where it is not.
(François de la Rochefoucauld)
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