To defend yourself—or question a suspect—you need to know how to say "nothing" and "nobody" in the past tense (passé composé). Both words act as negative pronouns, but they are placed in completely different spots!
The placement of rien
When using ne ... rien (nothing / not anything), rien wraps around the auxiliary verb, landing immediately before the past participle.
| The witness saw nothing. | Le témoin n'a rien vu. |
| He didn't do anything yesterday. | Il n'a rien fait hier. |
The placement of personne
When using ne ... personne (nobody / no one), personne is pushed to the end of the verb phrase, after the past participle.
| He didn't hear anyone. | Il n'a entendu personne. |
| We didn't interrogate anyone. | Nous n'avons interrogé personne. |
Comparing the word order
Notice how these two negative pronouns behave differently:
| Subject | ne / n' | Auxiliary | Negative 1 | Participle | Negative 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Il | n' | a | rien | vu. | |
| Il | n' | a | entendu | personne. |
In the interrogation room
Here are both structures in action to help you figure out who is coupable (guilty) and who is innocent:
| I am innocent, I didn't attack anyone! | Je suis innocent, je n'ai attaqué personne ! |
| I didn't take anything, I am innocent! | Je n'ai rien pris, je suis innocent ! |
| The suspect saw no one, but he is guilty of this crime. | Le suspect n'a vu personne, mais il est coupable de ce crime. |
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io
