{"id":1014,"date":"2022-08-19T08:20:33","date_gmt":"2022-08-19T06:20:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/?p=1014"},"modified":"2024-02-19T09:05:44","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T08:05:44","slug":"position-of-pronouns-and-negation-words-in-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/position-of-pronouns-and-negation-words-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"Position of pronouns and negation words in French"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Have you ever wondered where to place the negation words and pronouns in a French sentence? Wonder no more! In this blog post, I will explain the position of these words in a French sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-table-of-contents uagb-toc__align-left uagb-toc__columns-1 uagb-toc__collapse uagb-block-d7abbb1a     \"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-scroll= \"1\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-offset= \"30\"\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Table of contents<\/strong>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox= \"0 0 384 512\"><path d=\"M192 384c-8.188 0-16.38-3.125-22.62-9.375l-160-160c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25s32.75-12.5 45.25 0L192 306.8l137.4-137.4c12.5-12.5 32.75-12.5 45.25 0s12.5 32.75 0 45.25l-160 160C208.4 380.9 200.2 384 192 384z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class='uagb-toc__separator'><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"uagb-toc__list-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<ol class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#how-do-you-know-where-to-put-pronouns-in-french\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">How do you know where to put pronouns in French?<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#where-do-you-put-the-negation-in-french\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Where do you put the negation in French?<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#how-do-you-negate-a-pronoun-in-french\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">How do you negate a pronoun in French?<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#french-compound-tenses-pass\u00e9-compos\u00e9-plus-que-parfait\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">French Compound Tenses (pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9, plus-que-parfait\u2026)<\/a><ul class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#negation-in-french-compound-tenses\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Negation in French compound tenses<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#position-of-the-pronoun-and-negation-in-french-with-modal-verbs-and-the-near-future\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Position of the pronoun and negation in French with modal verbs and the near future<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#position-of-the-pronoun-and-negation-in-french-with-reflexive-pronominal-verbs\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Position of the pronoun and negation in French with reflexive (pronominal) verbs<\/a><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#french-quiz\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">\u2714\ufe0f French QUIZ<\/a><ul class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#position-des-pronoms-dans-la-phrase\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Position des pronoms dans la phrase<\/a><\/li><\/ul><li class=\"uagb-toc__list\"><a href=\"#articles-that-might-interest-you\" class=\"uagb-toc-link__trigger\">Articles that might interest you:<\/a><\/ul><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"POSITION DES PRONOMS (en, y, directs et indirects) et POSITION DE LA N\u00c9GATION en fran\u00e7ais\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XucWpTrizvo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-af8c0edc alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-35a8548f\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/img-pdf-bonus-french.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1925\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/img-pdf-bonus-french.png 600w, https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/img-pdf-bonus-french-300x250.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-64fd7e53\">\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\"><strong>PDF Bonus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We have prepared a <strong>free PDF<\/strong> to help you <strong>understand and master the position of pronouns and negation words in French<\/strong>. <br>\ud83d\udc49 <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3OH5zAH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Download it for free<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the end, you will have <strong>exercises <\/strong>to practice with the <strong>correction<\/strong>. \ud83d\udc4d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tu fais du ski ?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Je <strong>n\u2019<\/strong><em>en<\/em> ai <strong>pas <\/strong>fait depuis longtemps. Mais je veux <strong>en<\/strong> faire \u00e0 nouveau.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>What I noticed with my students was that understanding when to use <strong>y<\/strong> or <strong>en<\/strong> was pretty simple. Once they <strong>understand <\/strong>and <strong>learn <\/strong>the rules \ud83d\ude09, it&rsquo;s no longer a problem to get it right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, the main problem is getting all the little words in the sentence right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To solve this problem of word position, we will review together :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>where <\/strong>we put the <strong>pronouns<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and <strong>where <\/strong>we put the <strong>negation words<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8230;and that, in the <strong>simple tenses<\/strong>&#8230; in the <strong>compound tenses<\/strong>&#8230; with <strong>modal verbs<\/strong> (<em>vouloir<\/em>, <em>pouvoir<\/em>, etc)&#8230; with the <strong>near future<\/strong> and with <strong>reflexive verbs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How do you know where to put pronouns in French?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&rsquo;s first look at the position of pronouns in the French sentence. What I&rsquo;m going to tell you now works for <strong>all pronouns<\/strong> and <strong>all tenses<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Yes&#8230; Actually&#8230; in all tenses, not exactly! It doesn&rsquo;t work like that in <strong>the imperative<\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You know the <strong>imperative<\/strong>? When you give an order or an advice to someone: <strong>Sors <\/strong>! (Go out!) &#8211; <strong>Mange <\/strong>! (Eat!) &#8211; <strong>Prends ton parapluie<\/strong> (Take your umbrella).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But let&rsquo;s leave the imperative aside for today, you can find <a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/the-imperative-in-french-how-to-conjugate-verbs-in-imperative-when-do-you-have-to-use-the-imperative\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">our specific article about imperative<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&rsquo;s go back to the position of the pronouns. It&rsquo;s very simple, <strong>it&rsquo;s right before the verb!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Easy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But when I say : \u00ab\u00a0just before\u00a0\u00bb, I mean : <strong>JUST BEFORE !<\/strong> Not: \u201c<em>just before, but I still put a little word between the pronoun and the verb<\/em>\u201d&#8230;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No no, just before!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Examples<\/span>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Je veux du pain.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I know that here I have to use the pronoun <strong>en<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My verb is: <strong>veux<\/strong> (<em>vouloir<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>so I put the pronoun <strong>right before the verb<\/strong> and it says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>j\u2019<strong>en<\/strong> veux !<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tu voulais du pain ?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>J\u2019<strong>en<\/strong> voulais.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tu vas au cin\u00e9ma ?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>J\u2019<strong>y<\/strong> vais.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#60bceb\"><strong>Do you like learning French with videos?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Receive <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/learn-french-fun.com\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\">our free video newsletter<\/a> every Friday in your e-mail box. You will get <strong>3 \u00ab\u00a0Tips &amp; Tricks\u00a0\u00bb<\/strong> on <strong>grammar<\/strong>, <strong>vocabulary<\/strong>, <strong>phonetics <\/strong>or <strong>French culture<\/strong>.<br>\ud83d\udc49\ud83d\udc49 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/learn-french-fun.com\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sign up now!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/learn-french-fun.com\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/BLOG-newsletter.jpg\" alt=\"Every Friday afternoon, a French-language video delivered straight to your inbox, with three tips and tricks on the French language.\" class=\"wp-image-1882\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/BLOG-newsletter.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/BLOG-newsletter-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where do you put the negation in French?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Okay, but we don&rsquo;t always speak in the affirmative form. Sometimes we say: <strong>no<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/vyTnNTrs3wqQ0UIvwE\" width=\"480\" height=\"400\" frameBorder=\"0\" class=\"giphy-embed\" allowFullScreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The position of the negation in French is also something very simple, it &#8211; encapsulates &#8211; the verb!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Encapsulates<\/strong>???<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, on both sides! You know that the negation is: <strong>ne\u2026 pas\u2026<\/strong> \/ <strong>ne\u2026 plus\u2026<\/strong> \/ <strong>ne\u2026 jamais\u2026<\/strong> \/ etc<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, the <strong>ne<\/strong> is put before the verb and the <strong>pas\/plus\/jamais\u2026<\/strong> is put after!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How do you negate a pronoun in French?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Ok&#8230; But you will tell me that&#8230; \u00ab\u00a0before\u00a0\u00bb, there is already the pronoun! So&#8230; what?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember what I told you: the pronoun is before, before, BEFORE!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before with the <strong>#1 priority<\/strong> of being before the verb!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, the <strong>ne<\/strong> of the negation, it is a little less before\u2026 \ud83d\ude05<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want, you can put a priority order:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>pronoun <\/strong>has <strong>priority #1<\/strong> to be <strong>before the verb<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and the <strong>negation<\/strong> has <strong>priority #2<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>That means that if in a sentence you have the pronoun <strong>and <\/strong>the negation \u2192 The pronoun is just before the verb and the \u00ab\u00a0ne\u00a0\u00bb of the negation, just before the pronoun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Examples<\/span>:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Je veux du pain \u2192 J\u2019<strong>en<\/strong> veux.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Negative form:<\/strong> je <em>n\u2019<\/em><strong>en<\/strong> veux pas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>J\u2019<strong>y<\/strong> vais<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Je <em>n\u2019<\/em><strong>y<\/strong> vais pas<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">French Compound Tenses (pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9, plus-que-parfait\u2026)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So far, I think everything is going well for you! Where it gets a little more complicated is with the French <strong>compound tenses<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just a reminder, in the compound tenses, you find: the<strong> pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9<\/strong>, <strong>plus-que-parfait<\/strong>, <strong>conditionnel pass\u00e9<\/strong>, <strong>subjonctif pass\u00e9<\/strong>, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First the position of the pronoun: It doesn&rsquo;t change! <strong>Priority n\u00b01, before the verb<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>J\u2019ai voulu du pain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>J\u2019<strong>en<\/strong> ai voulu.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This gives us the structure:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Subject + pronoun + to be\/have + past participle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Negation in French compound tenses<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Then there is the problem of negation. One thing that is nice here is that the position of the negation words for the compound tenses NEVER changes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&rsquo;s <strong>always <\/strong>this structure:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sujet + ne + \u00eatre\/avoir + pas\/plus\/jamais\u2026 + participe pass\u00e9<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Example<\/span>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Je <strong>n\u2019<\/strong>ai <strong>pas<\/strong> <em>voulu<\/em> de pain<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>So, finally, it&rsquo;s not very complicated to add the pronoun? Indeed, <strong>it has a number 1 priority, it is BEFORE the verb<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udca1 Remember that <strong>ai (avoir)<\/strong> is <strong>part of the verb<\/strong>&#8230; So we will put the pronoun just before the auxiliary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The structure for negation in French compound tenses is:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<strong>Sujet + ne + <\/strong><strong>pronom<\/strong><strong> + \u00eatre\/avoir + pas\/plus\/jamais\u2026 + participe pass\u00e9<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Je n\u2019en_ai pas voulu.<\/strong> (Don&rsquo;t forget to make the connection \u2192 je n\u2019<strong>en_ai<\/strong>&#8230;)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#d8e7c1\"><tbody><tr><td>\ud83d\udc49 <strong>Do you want to be able to remember all these rules easily?<\/strong><br><br>We&rsquo;ve prepared a <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3OH5zAH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">free Bonus PDF<\/a> with the <strong>summary of the lesson<\/strong> on the position of pronouns and negation words in the French sentence. With <strong>exercises <\/strong>and <strong>corrections <\/strong>to practice.<br><br>So, download it right now \ud83d\udc4d\ud83d\ude00<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&rsquo;s break down an example together:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>QUESTION:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Tu es all\u00e9 au ski ?<\/strong> (Did you go skiing?)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ANSWER:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Subject? <strong>Je<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Negation (part 1) ? <strong>ne<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pronoun ? \u00ab\u00a0Au ski\u00a0\u00bb \u2192 pronoun <strong>y<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Verb (part 1, because it&rsquo;s a compound tense = auxiliary): With the verb <strong>aller<\/strong>, I know I have to use <strong>\u00eatre<\/strong>, so: <strong>suis<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Negation (part 2, the most important part of the negation!) : <strong>pas<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Verb (part 2 = past participle): <strong>all\u00e9<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2192 Je n\u2019y suis pas_all\u00e9. (again, don&rsquo;t forget the connection)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Position of the pronoun and negation in French with modal verbs and the near future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now let&rsquo;s look at the case with the <strong>modal verbs<\/strong> (<em>vouloir, pouvoir, devoir<\/em>), also the verb <strong>aimer + infinitive<\/strong>, and the <strong>near future tense<\/strong>. All these verbs work in the same way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#f3dfa3\"><tbody><tr><td>\ud83d\udccc Quick reminder, the near future? <strong>Je vais partir<\/strong>.<br><br>It&rsquo;s the verb <strong>aller in the present tense + infinitive<\/strong>. You&rsquo;ll find <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/anr1f3eHOeo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">our specific video on YouTube that explains all this<\/a> if you forgot.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, does the rule change? No !<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, it remains the same logic. The only thing you need to pay attention to is the <em>\u00ab\u00a0real\u00a0\u00bb<\/em> verb in the sentence, the verb <strong>that gives meaning<\/strong> to your sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you say: <strong>Je dois partir<\/strong>. What is the <em>\u00ab\u00a0real\u00a0\u00bb<\/em> verb?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>dois<\/strong> ?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>partir<\/strong> ?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It&rsquo;s <strong>partir<\/strong> of course. <strong>Dois<\/strong> is the modal, which expresses the \u00ab\u00a0how\u00a0\u00bb. Here, for you, it&rsquo;s an obligation \u2192 you have to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And the same goes for the near future<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Je vais partir<\/strong>. <strong>Vais<\/strong> is only used in the formation of the near future. It&rsquo;s <strong>partir<\/strong> that gives the information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>I know, you could tell me that in the compound past tense, it should be the same logic. <strong>\u00catre <\/strong>&nbsp;or <strong>avoir<\/strong> are only used to make the pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9&#8230;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes&#8230; but, <strong>no!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Listen, it&rsquo;s French after all! You have to complicate things a little bit \ud83d\ude02<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that you know which is the <em>real<\/em> verb, when there is a modal or in the near future, <strong>you apply the rules you already know about the position of the pronoun and\/or the negation<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tu dois prendre du pain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2192 Tu dois <strong>en <\/strong>prendre.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Right before the <em>real<\/em> verb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tu as d\u00fb prendre du pain ?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2192 Oui, j\u2019ai d\u00fb <strong>en <\/strong>prendre.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u26a0\ufe0f BEWARE, remember that the real verb is <strong>prendre<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Non, je n\u2019ai pas d\u00fb <strong>en<\/strong> prendre.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You see,&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>we <strong>conjugate <\/strong>our modal (<em>present tense, past tense, whatever<\/em>),&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>put it in the <strong>affirmative or negative<\/strong> form depending on what we want to say,&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and then, since we have the <em>real<\/em> verb, <strong>right BEFORE, we put the pronoun<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>And it&rsquo;s the same thing with the near future:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tu vas aller au ski ?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Oui, je vais<strong> y<\/strong> aller.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Non, je ne vais pas_<strong>y<\/strong> aller. (<em>I make the connection<\/em>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Position of the pronoun and negation in French with reflexive (pronominal) verbs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are still reading this article, it means that you are a warrior of the French language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/embed\/fLcfGLzj4aeaMIqbex\" width=\"480\" height=\"480\" frameBorder=\"0\" class=\"giphy-embed\" allowFullScreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The last hurdle you&rsquo;ll ever encounter. It&rsquo;s with reflexive (pronominal) verbs: se\u2026 (se lever, se coiffer, se rendre\u2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Again, <strong>nothing changes!<\/strong> It&rsquo;s just a new priority rule that appears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Until now, we had:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Priority #1 before the verb:<\/strong> the pronoun<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Priority n\u00b02 before the verb:<\/strong> the negation (ne)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, we will have :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Priority n\u00b01 before the verb<\/strong>: the pronoun (<strong>it doesn&rsquo;t change<\/strong>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Priority n\u00b02 before the verb<\/strong>: the <strong>reflexive pronoun<\/strong> (<em>me, te, se\u2026<\/em>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Priority #3 before the verb:<\/strong> the negation (<em>ne<\/em>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Clearly, the <strong>ne<\/strong> of the negation, it <strong>has a very small priority<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So small, that very often the French don&rsquo;t even say it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&rsquo;s take an example: <strong>se mettre du parfum<\/strong> (putting on perfume).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Est-ce que tu te mets du parfum ?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Oui, je m\u2019<strong>en<\/strong> mets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Non, je <em>ne<\/em> m\u2019<strong>en<\/strong> mets pas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Est-ce que tu t\u2019es mis du parfum ? (<em>pass\u00e9 compos\u00e9<\/em>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Oui, je m\u2019<strong>en<\/strong> suis mis.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Non, je <em>ne<\/em> m\u2019<strong>en<\/strong> suis pas mis.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can see, the rule hasn&rsquo;t changed. You just have to pay attention to the order of priority of the words before the verb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-51f33868 alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-81f09c5f\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-1c33ced6\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2714\ufe0f French QUIZ<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-18f0cb86\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Position des pronoms dans la phrase<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-049ee692\">\n<p><em>Before leaving, let&rsquo;s take this little quiz together to see if you understand<\/em> \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-hdq-quiz-block hdq-quiz-gutenberg\"><div class = \"hdq_quiz_wrapper\"><a href = \"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/position-of-pronouns-and-negation-words-in-french\/\" rel=\"noamphtml\" class = \"hdq_quiz_start hdq_button button\" role = \"button\" title = \"D\u00e9marrer le quiz\">D\u00e9marrer le quiz<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\ud83d\udccc Free PDF Bonus<\/strong>: <br>Do you want to do <strong>more exercises<\/strong> on Position of French pronouns in the sentence and have the <strong>correction<\/strong>? Have a <strong>summary sheet of the lesson<\/strong>?<br>Then <strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/pdf-bonus\/index.php?exo=pospro\" target=\"_blank\">download the free Bonus PDF<\/a><\/strong>!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I hope it&rsquo;s a bit clearer for you \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And rest assured, before you can use pronouns in the right place in everyday discussions&#8230; with reflexive verbs in compound tenses&#8230; you&rsquo;ll get it wrong a thousand times first!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But <strong>that&rsquo;s okay!<\/strong> Step by step, <strong>you&rsquo;ll make fewer and fewer mistakes<\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And don&rsquo;t forget to <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3OH5zAH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">download the Little Bonus PDF<\/a>, which contains a summary of what we&rsquo;ve just seen and many exercise sentences to practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And above all, speak French as much as possible! Bye, see you soon \ud83c\udf1e<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.buymeacoffee.com\/learnfrenchfun\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/bmc-encart-blog.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1885\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/bmc-encart-blog.png 600w, https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/bmc-encart-blog-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Articles that might interest you: <\/h3>\n\n\n<ul class=\"lcp_catlist\" id=\"lcp_instance_0\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/the-imperative-in-french-how-to-conjugate-verbs-in-imperative-when-do-you-have-to-use-the-imperative\/\">The Imperative in French: How to Conjugate Verbs in Imperative? When do You Have to Use the Imperative?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/the-10-irregular-verbs-in-the-french-subjunctive-mood\/\">The 10 Irregular Verbs in the French Subjunctive Mood<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/depuis-pendant-en-ilya-dans\/\">Depuis, pendant, en, il y a, dans<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/all-the-secrets-of-the-french-gerund\/\">All the secrets of the French gerund!<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/french-verb-moods\/\">French verb moods<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/how-to-use-the-tonic-pronouns-in-french\/\">How to use the tonic pronouns in French?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/how-to-use-en-and-y-pronoun-in-french\/\">How to use \u00ab\u00a0en\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0y\u00a0\u00bb pronoun in French?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/difference-between-dont-and-duquel-in-french\/\">Difference between DONT and DUQUEL in French<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/10-dangerous-french-verbs\/\"><strong>10 common French verbs conjugated in the present tense. Beware of traps!<\/strong><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/the-direct-object-complement-in-french-c-o-d-and-direct-complement-pronouns-le-la-les\/\">The Direct Object Complement in French (C.O.D.) and direct complement pronouns (le, la, les\u2026)<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some people think that French is just a \u00ab\u00a0silly language\u00a0\u00bb because the position of pronouns and negation words can seem a bit strange at first. However, once you understand the rules, French can be just as logical as any other language! In this post, I&rsquo;ll explain how to place pronouns and negation words in French sentences. So if you&rsquo;re ready to learn some fun facts about this \u00ab\u00a0silly\u00a0\u00bb language, keep reading!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-french-grammar"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/position-of-pronouns-and-negation-words-in-french.png",1200,700,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/position-of-pronouns-and-negation-words-in-french-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/position-of-pronouns-and-negation-words-in-french-300x175.png",300,175,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/position-of-pronouns-and-negation-words-in-french-768x448.png",768,448,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/position-of-pronouns-and-negation-words-in-french-1024x597.png",1024,597,true],"hd_qu_size2":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/position-of-pronouns-and-negation-words-in-french.png",400,233,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/position-of-pronouns-and-negation-words-in-french.png",1200,700,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/position-of-pronouns-and-negation-words-in-french.png",1200,700,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Christian","author_link":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/author\/christian\/"},"uagb_comment_info":6,"uagb_excerpt":"Some people think that French is just a \"silly language\" because the position of pronouns and negation words can seem a bit strange at first. However, once you understand the rules, French can be just as logical as any other language! In this post, I'll explain how to place pronouns and negation words in French\u2026","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1014"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1014"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2378,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1014\/revisions\/2378"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learn-french-fun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}