📖LearnModule 12 · Lesson 12 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C1, completedUnit 3 · La phrase soignée
Le ne explétif
Module 12 of the free French course (CEFR C1, completed), lesson 12 of 30: Some ne are not negative at all. On this page: 8 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 12.
The words
French
English
Say it
je crains qu'il ne vienne
I am afraid he will come
zhuh kra(n) keel nuh VYEHN
le ne explétif
the expletive ne
luh nuh ehks-play-TEEF
empêcher
to prevent
ah(n)-peh-SHAY
à moins que
unless (with a verb)
ah MWA(n) kuh
la courtoisie de style
a courtesy of style
lah koor-twah-zee duh STEEL
facultatif
optional
fah-kewl-tah-TEEF
renverser le sens
to reverse the meaning
rah(n)-vehr-say luh SAH(n)S
positif
positive
poh-zee-TEEF
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
Hear the words
Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.
La règle · The rule
Some ne are not negative at all. Je crains qu'il ne vienne means I am afraid he WILL come — the ne is a courtesy of style, and the sentence is positive.
Et aussi · And also
It turns up after craindre, avoir peur, empêcher, avant que and à moins que. If you meet one, read it as though it were not there. Writing it is optional; misreading it reverses a sentence.
Attention · Watch out
je crains qu'il ne vienne means I am afraid he WILL come — the ne is not a negation. Read it as if it were not there; a pas would be the real negative.
craindre — the table
je crains · tu crains · il/elle craint · nous craignons · vous craignez · ils/elles craignent
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with je crains qu'il ne vienne.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out craindre in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The French Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.