Log inSign up

Je suis innocent, je n'ai attaqué personne !

Je suis innocent, je n'ai attaqué personne !
I am innocent, I didn't attack anyone!
From Lesson 129:Past tense with negative pronouns (je n'ai rien vu)·French

Questions & Answers about Je suis innocent, je n'ai attaqué personne !

Why is personne placed after the past participle attaqué?
When using the passé composé, the negative word personne (nobody/anyone) goes after the past participle (attaqué). This is different from words like pas or rien, which go between the helping verb (ai) and the past participle. So, it is je n'ai attaqué personne, whereas it would be je n'ai rien attaqué.
Why isn't there a pas in this sentence? Shouldn't it be je n'ai pas attaqué personne?
In French, personne acts as the second half of the negative structure, replacing pas. Saying je n'ai pas attaqué personne is incorrect, much like a double negative in English. You just use ne (or n') before the helping verb and personne in its correct spot.
Why does it say n'ai instead of ne ai?
The negative word ne drops its e and adds an apostrophe when the next word starts with a vowel or a silent h. Since the helping verb ai starts with a vowel, ne becomes n'.
If a woman were saying this, would the sentence change?
Yes! The adjective innocent would need an e at the end to match a female speaker, making it Je suis innocente. The second half of the sentence (je n'ai attaqué personne) would stay exactly the same.

Learn Je suis innocent, je n'ai attaqué 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
Start learning French →