How to do French negatives in compound tenses

So you’ve learnt to use NE/PAS but then it starts floating all over the place once you start using the past tense! 

You’re not alone - you learn the rule that it goes after the verb, so that’s where you place it when you’re learning the present, and even past perfect  (as in “I have or had done” something.

This is where you might trip up, and to help you, I put together some visual examples to help you know just how to get it right:

In this mini-lesson, you’ll discover:

• The range of negations possible
• How they fit into a compound tense
• A couple of exceptions 

How do you use the negative form with compound tenses?

What is compound tense? It’s a tense that involves more than one word. Indeed, we can mention these “simple” French tenses: present, imparfait, simple future, present conditional…You only conjugate one word.

However, some French tenses possess 2 parts, therefore they are compound. Generally, they require an auxiliary and a past participle.

I invite you to read this article first in order to know how to pick the right auxiliary:

How to choose the right auxiliary in French

As far as the negative form is concerned, for simple tenses, suffice to put the first negative word before your verb and the second part after it.

How does it work with compound tenses? The negation goes around the auxiliary (and not the past participle).

As a reminder, here is a list of negative words you can use:

•  ne… rien  >>> nothing (not anything)

•  ne… plus  >>> no more (no longer)

•  ne… jamais  >>> never (not ever)

•  ne… ni…ni  >>> neither…nor 

•  ne… guère  >>> hardly ever

•  ne… aucun  >>> none (not any)

•  ne… personne  >>> nobody (not anyone)
•  ne… que  >>> only 

Note that “ne” o “n’” will be before your auxiliary then follows the second part of your negative form. Let’s study each compound tense with clear examples…

Negation with the passé composé.

First, you will see how it works with the auxiliary avoir. The most common compound tense you would deal with is the passé composé. It’s the equivalent of the present perfect.

It’s a quick action with consequences in the present. You would typically conjugate it like this with the negation:

• Je n’ai pas + past participle
• Tu n’as pas + past participle
• Il / elle n’a pas + past participle
• Nous n’avons pas + past participle
• Vous n’avez pas + past participle
• Ils / elles n’ont pas + past participle

Of course, you can substitute the “pas” with another option like the following:

• Je n’ai rien + past participle  >>> nothing
• Je n’ai plus + past participle  >>> no more
• Je n’ai ni…ni  + past participle  >>> neither…nor
• Je n’ai guère + past participle  >>> hardly
• Je n’ai + past participle +  personne >>> nobody
• Je n’ai + past participle +  aucun  >>> not any
• Je n’ai + past participle +  que  >>> only 

Time to see concrete examples you can apply in your life:

• Je n’ai rien mangé aujourd’hui >>> I haven’t eaten anything today.
• Tu n’as plus reçu d’argent >>> You haven’t received money any more.

• Elle n’a jamais eu beaucoup d’amis >>> She never has had many friends.

Learn the negative form with the pluperfect in French.

 Another tense you may need for the past is the pluperfect. It’s the most remote one in the past. In case you have questions about it, this mini-lesson will help you:

The French Past Perfect explained

I show you how to conjugate it:

• Je n’avais pas + past participle
• Tu n’avais pas + past participle
• Il / elle n’avait pas + past participle
• Nous n’avions pas + past participle
• Vous n’aviez pas + past participle
• Ils / elles n’avaient pas + past participle

The same examples but with the pluperfect: 

• Je n’avais rien mangé aujourd’hui >>> I hadn’t eaten anything today.
• Tu n’avais plus reçu d’argent >>> You hadn’t received money any more.

• Elle n’avait jamais eu beaucoup d’amis >>> She never had had many friends.

Have you ever wondered how to use the negative form for the future perfect in French?

You may not encounter this tense that often but in books and other written formats, you will.

Basically, the structure is the future expressed with the auxiliary and the past participle.

Therefore, you will have this:

• Je n’aurai pas + past participle
• Tu n’auras pas + past participle
• Il / elle n’aura pas + past participle
• Nous n’aurons pas + past participle
• Vous n’aurez pas + past participle
• Ils / elles n’auront pas + past participle

The same examples but with the future perfect:

• Je n’aurai rien mangé aujourd’hui >>> I won't have eaten anything today.
• Tu n’auras plus reçu d’argent >>> You won't  have received money any more.

• Elle n’aura jamais eu beaucoup d’amis >>> She will never have had many friends.

Tips for the French negative form of the past conditional

You should extremely be careful with the past conditional because it looks like the future perfect. It is especially the case for the first person of the singular since the pronunciation is the same!

Here’s the structure of the past conditional

• Je n’aurais pas + past participle
• Tu n’aurais pas + past participle
• Il / elle n’aurait pas + past participle
• Nous n’aurions pas + past participle
• Vous n’auriez pas + past participle
• Ils / elles n’auraient pas + past participle 

The same examples but with the present conditional:

• Je n’aurais rien mangé aujourd’hui >>> I would not have eaten anything today.
• Tu n’aurais plus reçu d’argent >>> You would not have received money any more.

• Elle n’aurait jamais eu beaucoup d’amis >>> She would never have had many friends.

The French negative form with the auxiliary ÊTRE.

You have seen 4 compound tenses with the auxiliary avoir. Time to discover the other option: the auxiliary être.

The main difference is the agreement. Indeed, if the subject is feminine and plural, you need to add an extra “e” and “s”.

Conjugate the passé composé with être and the negative form.

 The structure remains the same as for the auxiliary avoir.

Let me help you with the selective list of these verbs requiring the auxiliary être.

• Je ne suis pas + past participle
• Tu n’es pas + past participle
• Il / elle n’est pas + past participle
• Nous ne sommes pas + past participle
• Vous n’êtes pas + past participle
• Ils / elles ne sont pas + past participle

The options of the past participles are these:

• monté >>> gone up
• resté >>> stayed
• sorti >>> gone out
• descendu >>> gone down
• retourné >>> returned
• parti >>> left
• venu >>> come
• arrivé >>> arrived
• né >>> born
• devenu >>> became
• entré >>> entered
• rentré >>> gone back
• tombé >>> fallen
• revenu >>> returned
• allé >>> been
• mort >>> died
• passé  >>> passed 

Some illustrations for you:

• Je ne suis jamais allé en France >>> I have never been to France.
• Elle n’est plus retournée dans son pays  >>> She never returned to her country.

• Ils ne sont pas venus cette semaine >>> They haven’t come this week.

The negative form of the pluperfect with the auxiliary être.

In this case, it works like the passé composé except that the auxiliary être follows the pattern of the imparfait like this:

• Je n’étais pas + past participle
• Tu n’étais pas + past participle
• Il / elle n’était pas + past participle
• Nous n’étions pas + past participle
• Vous n’étiez pas + past participle
• Ils / elles n’étaient pas + past participle

The same examples with the pluperfect:

• Je n’étais jamais allé en France >>> I had never been to France. 
• Elle n’était plus retournée dans son pays  >>> She had never returned to her country.

• Ils n’étaient pas venus cette semaine >>> They hadn’t come this week.

The negative form for the future perfect with être.

Let’s see what happens with this usual tense. Remember to add the corresponding letters if it’s feminine and plural. 

So, you should observe this:

• Je ne serai pas + past participle
• Tu ne seras pas + past participle
• Il / elle ne sera pas + past participle
• Nous ne serons pas + past participle
• Vous ne serez pas + past participle
• Ils / elles ne seront pas + past participle

The same examples but with the future perfect:

• Je ne serai jamais allé en France >>> I will never have gone to France.
• Elle ne sera plus retournée dans son pays  >>> She will never have returned to her country.

• Ils ne seront pas venus cette semaine >>> They will not have come this week.

The French negative form combined with être at the past conditional.

To express regrets, you want the past conditional.

This is how it goes:

• Je ne serais pas + past participle
• Tu ne serais pas + past participle
• Il / elle ne serait pas + past participle
• Nous ne serions pas + past participle
• Vous ne seriez pas + past participle
• Ils / elles ne seraient pas + past participle

The same examples but with the past perfect:

• Je ne serais jamais allé en France >>> I would never have gone to France.
• Elle ne serait plus retournée dans son pays  >>> She would never have returned to her country.

• Ils ne seraient pas venus cette semaine >>> They would not have come this week.

What’s the negative form with a pronoun in French?

Finally, let’s explain the way to conjugate reflexive verbs. In case you didn’t know, reflexive verbs (action on yourself) require the auxiliary être. 

Apply the same pattern and add your pronoun before the auxiliary like the following:

• Je ne me suis pas + past participle
• Tu ne t’es pas + past participle
• Il / elle ne s’est pas + past participle
• Nous ne nous sommes pas + past participle
• Vous ne vous êtes pas + past participle
• Ils / elles ne se sont pas + past participle

Here, you are dealing with the passé composé.

A few examples to give you some ideas:

• Je ne me suis  jamais maquillée pour travailler >>> I have never put some makeup to work.
• Elle ne s’est plus mariée avec Julien  >>> She didn’t get married with Julien anymore.

• Ils ne se sont pas réveillés tôt >>> They didn’t wake up early.

The negative form of reflexive verbs using the pluperfect.

Follow what you just have seen and change the auxiliary such as this:

• Je ne m’étais pas + past participle
• Tu ne t’étais pas + past participle
• Il / elle ne s’était pas + past participle
• Nous ne nous étions pas + past participle
• Vous ne vous étiez pas + past participle
• Ils / elles ne s’étaient pas + past participle

The previous examples adapted to the pluperfect:

• Je ne m’étais  jamais maquillée pour travailler >>> I had never put some makeup to work.
• Elle ne s’était plus mariée avec Julien  >>> She hadn’t gotten married with Julien anymore.

• Ils ne s’étaient pas réveillés tôt >>> They hadn’t woken up early.

The negative form of reflexive verbs and the future perfect.

If you don’t remember the pattern of the future perfect, go back to the previous section. Then, add the pronoun for reflexive verbs:

• Je ne me serai pas + past participle
• Tu ne te seras pas + past participle
• Il / elle ne se sera pas + past participle
• Nous ne nous serons pas + past participle
• Vous ne vous serez pas + past participle
• Ils / elles ne se seront pas + past participle

The previous examples adapted to the future perfect:

• Je ne me serai jamais maquillée pour travailler >>> I will never have put some makeup to work.
• Elle ne se sera plus mariée avec Julien  >>> She won’t have gotten married with Julien anymore.

• Ils ne se seront pas réveillés tôt >>> They won’t have woken up early.

Past conditional for reflexive verbs and their negative form.

Finally, the negative form for the past conditional with reflexive verbs in French hast this pattern: 

• Je ne me serais pas + past participle
• Tu ne te serais pas + past participle
• Il / elle ne se serait pas + past participle
• Nous ne nous serions pas + past participle
• Vous ne vous seriez pas + past participle
• Ils / elles ne se seraient pas + past participle

The previous examples adapted to the past conditional:

• Je ne me serais jamais maquillée pour travailler >>> I would never have put makeup on for  work.
• Elle ne se serait plus mariée avec Julien  >>> She wouldn’t have been married with Julien anymore.

• Ils ne se seraient pas réveillés tôt >>> They wouldn’t have woken up early.

Negation in compound tenses with reflexive verbs.

At this stage, you should be able to conjugate any of the 4 compound tenses we have seen: passé composé, pluperfect, future perfect, and the past conditional.

To expand your vocabulary, I have some reflexive verbs for you that you can use in real situations:

• se réveiller >>> to wake up
• se lever >>> to get up
• se laver >>> to wash oneself
• se doucher >>> to shower
• se brosser  >>> to brush
• s’habiller >>> to get dressed
• se dépêcher >>> to hurry 
• s’énerver >>> to get mad
• se fâcher >>> to wake up
• se casser  >>> to have something broken
• s’habituer >>> to get used to
• s’informer >>> to get informed
• se déshabiller >>> to get undressed
• se coucher  >>> to go to bed
• s’endormir >>> to go to sleep
• se demander >>> to wonder
• se poser la question >>> to ask oneself 

To summarise, the negative part always has 2 parts. The first one is “ne” or “n’”. Then, you have several options for the second part of the negation.

In the case of compound tenses, the idea is to “circle” the auxiliary and have the negation around it. For reflexive verbs, you need to add the pronoun just after the “ne” part. Basically think, I DID or DIDN'T do something . . . that way makes it a bit simpler when speaking in normal conversations.

Regarding the auxiliary, you have to pick the right one: avoir or être without forgetting the agreement of the latter. 

Basically, there are 4 compound tenses: passé composé, pluperfect, future perfect and the past conditional. If you multiply by 2 for the auxiliary, you need to learn 4 conjugations. Actually, less since the past participle is the same…

Just go one by one and practise with your own examples. Getting creative and applying your knowledge is how you learn.  Any questions you may have, contact me and I will gladly clear your doubts. You can get back to me here or post in Simply French Family in Facebook.