Breakdown of Ne fais pas de bêtises aujourd'hui.
ne
not (used before the verb)
pas
not (used after the verb)
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
faire
to do, to make
aujourd'hui
today
la bêtise
the silly thing
Questions & Answers about Ne fais pas de bêtises aujourd'hui.
Why is there no subject pronoun like tu before fais?
This sentence uses the imperative mood, which is for giving commands. Just like in English, you drop the subject pronoun. So instead of tu ne fais pas (you do not do), you simply say ne fais pas (do not do).
Why is it de bêtises instead of des bêtises if the word is plural?
In French, the plural indefinite article des changes to de in negative sentences. Because this is a negative command (ne fais pas), the expected des changes to de, even though bêtises is plural.
What does bêtises mean, and why use the verb faire here?
If this lesson is about negative commands with reflexive verbs, why aren't there any reflexive pronouns here?
The verb faire is not reflexive here because the action is just about doing things in general, not doing something to yourself. If you wanted to use a reflexive verb like s'inquiéter (to worry) in a negative command, it would be ne t'inquiète pas, keeping the reflexive pronoun t' right before the verb.
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