Marie ne prépare rien.

Marie prepares nothing.

Breakdown of Marie ne prépare rien.

• Marie: Marie
• préparer: to prepare
• rien: nothing

Questions & Answers about Marie ne prépare rien.

What is the function of the words ne and rien in this sentence?

In French, negation is typically expressed in two parts. Ne is placed immediately before the conjugated verb, and rien — a negative pronoun meaning "nothing" — follows the verb. Together, they form the complete negative construction, indicating that Marie is not preparing anything.

Why does French require a two-part negative construction here, and does it count as a double negative?

Yes, French often uses a two-part negative structure that might look like a double negative in English. However, it isn’t redundant in French grammar. The first part (ne) signals that the sentence is negative, and the second part (in this case, rien) specifies what is being negated—in this case, "anything" or "nothing." This structure is a standard grammar rule in French.

Where do these negative words appear relative to the verb in the sentence?

The standard word order in a French negation places ne immediately before the verb and the second negative element (here, rien) immediately after the verb. So in Marie ne prépare rien, Marie is the subject, ne prépare is the verb with the first part of the negation, and rien completes the negative meaning.

Could pas be used instead of rien in this sentence, and what difference does that make?

While pas is also used to form negatives (e.g., Marie ne prépare pas), it conveys a more general negation of the action, meaning "is not preparing." Rien specifically means "nothing" and emphasizes that no object, no matter what it is, is being prepared. The choice between pas and rien can change the nuance of the sentence, with rien often stressing the total absence of anything being prepared.

Is it acceptable to drop the ne in conversational French when using this negation?

In informal, spoken French, many native speakers often omit the ne, saying something like Marie prépare rien. However, in formal writing or standard spoken French, the full negative construction (ne…rien) is expected and is considered correct.

What is the tense and subject-verb agreement for the verb prépare in this sentence?

Prépare is the third-person singular form of the verb préparer in the present tense. It agrees with the subject Marie, following the standard French subject–verb agreement rules.