Surtout, ne dis rien !

Questions & Answers about Surtout, ne dis rien !

Why isn't there a pas in this negative command?
In French, the negative word rien (nothing) replaces pas. The structure is ne ... rien (not ... anything / nothing). Saying ne dis pas rien would be incorrect, much like a double negative in English!
Why does the command dis end in an "s"? I thought the "s" was dropped for commands.
You only drop the final "s" in the tu (informal "you") command form for verbs that end in -er (like parle ! or mange !). Because dire (to say) is an -re verb, it keeps its normal "s" ending in the command form: dis !.
Does surtout literally translate to "on all"?
Yes! It is a combination of sur (on/over) and tout (all/everything). When joined together, surtout is used to mean "above all" or "especially."

Learn Surtout, ne dis rien 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