Tu marches dans ce cimetière hanté sans personne ?

Questions & Answers about Tu marches dans ce cimetière hanté sans personne ?

Wait, where is the ne in this sentence? I thought the rule was ne ... personne.
You normally need ne before the verb to say "nobody" (like Tu ne vois personne). However, the word sans (without) already has a negative meaning. When you use sans, it replaces the need for ne. So, sans personne translates to "without anyone."
Could I say sans quelqu'un to mean "without anyone"?
No, that sounds very unnatural in French! Because sans is a negative word, it pairs with the negative pronoun personne. French uses sans personne to mean "without anyone", even though translating it literally as "without nobody" would be bad grammar in English.
Why does the adjective hanté come after the noun?
Most French adjectives go after the noun they describe. This is especially true for adjectives that come from verbs, like hanté (haunted). Because cimetière is masculine, hanté matches it perfectly and doesn't need an extra -e at the end.
Why is "this" translated as ce here?
Ce is the word for "this" or "that" when talking about a masculine noun. Since cimetière (cemetery) is masculine and starts with a consonant, we use ce. If the masculine word started with a vowel or silent h, we would have to use cet instead.

Learn Tu marches dans ce cimetière hanté sans personne and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • Practice with interactive exercises
  • Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • Learn at your own pace — completely free