Learn Hardcore French: Marie n'est pas jalouse; elle fait confiance à Paul.

You cannot say Marie est pas jalouse in correct written French; you must include ne (which becomes n’ here) and pas.
(Spoken, informal French often drops ne, but learners should keep ne … pas for now.)

Where do ne and pas go in relation to the subject and the verb?

In simple tenses, the pattern is:

Subject + ne + conjugated verb + pas + rest of the sentence

In this sentence:

Marie (subject)
n’ (ne, before a vowel)
est (conjugated verb être)
pas
jalouse (adjective)

So you get: Marie n’est pas jalouse.

For the second clause, if it were negative, it would be:

Elle ne fait pas confiance à Paul.

Why do we write n’est and not ne est?

This is elision. When ne comes before a word that starts with a vowel or a mute h, the e of ne is dropped and replaced by an apostrophe:

ne est → n’est
ne habite pas → n’habite pas

So Marie ne est pas jalouse is incorrect; it must be Marie n’est pas jalouse.

Why is it jalouse and not jaloux here?

The adjective has to agree in gender with the subject:

jaloux = masculine singular
jalouse = feminine singular

Marie is grammatically feminine, so the adjective must be jalouse:

Marie n’est pas jalouse.
Paul n’est pas jaloux.

How would the adjective change with masculine or plural subjects?

The forms of jaloux / jalouse are:

Masculine singular: jaloux
- Paul n’est pas jaloux.
Feminine singular: jalouse
- Marie n’est pas jalouse.
Masculine plural: jaloux (same spelling as singular, different pronunciation in context)
- Ils ne sont pas jaloux.
Feminine plural: jalouses
- Elles ne sont pas jalouses.

Why does French say elle fait confiance à Paul to mean she trusts Paul?

French often uses verb + noun where English uses a single verb.
Here the pattern is:

faire confiance à quelqu’un = to trust someone

Literally, it is like saying she makes trust to Paul, but it is idiomatic French for she trusts Paul.

So you must keep the whole expression faire confiance à; you do not normally use a single verb like English trust.

What is the grammatical structure of elle fait confiance à Paul?

Breakdown:

elle = subject pronoun
fait = 3rd person singular of faire
confiance = feminine noun (direct object of faire)
à Paul = indirect object introduced by à

So the structure is:

subject + faire + confiance + à + person

Example variations:

Je fais confiance à Marie.
Nous faisons confiance à nos amis.

Why is the preposition à used before Paul? Could we use en?

With faire confiance, the standard construction is:

faire confiance à quelqu’un

So you must use à: elle fait confiance à Paul.

There is another expression:

avoir confiance en quelqu’un = also to trust someone

Example:

Elle a confiance en Paul.

So:

faire confiance à Paul
avoir confiance en Paul

Both are correct, but the preposition changes with the verb: à goes with faire confiance, en goes with avoir confiance.

Can we replace à Paul with a pronoun? Which pronoun do we use?

Yes. Paul is an indirect object introduced by à, so you replace à Paul with lui:

Elle fait confiance à Paul. → Elle lui fait confiance.

Note that you do not use le here:

Elle le fait confiance. ❌ (incorrect)
Elle lui fait confiance. ✅ (correct)

How would we make the second clause negative: she does not trust Paul?

You use ne … pas around the conjugated verb fait:

Elle fait confiance à Paul.
Elle ne fait pas confiance à Paul.

So the full negative sentence could be:

Marie n’est pas jalouse; elle ne fait pas confiance à Paul.
(Marie is not jealous; she does not trust Paul.)

Why is there a semicolon ; instead of a comma or a word like mais (but) or parce que (because)?

In French, a semicolon ; is used between two closely related but independent clauses:

Marie n’est pas jalouse = complete sentence
elle fait confiance à Paul = complete sentence

Using ; shows a clear link between the two ideas without adding an explicit connector.

Other acceptable options (with slightly different style):

Marie n’est pas jalouse, elle fait confiance à Paul. (comma; common, but heavier style guides often prefer ; or a conjunction)
Marie n’est pas jalouse, car elle fait confiance à Paul.
Marie n’est pas jalouse parce qu’elle fait confiance à Paul.
Marie n’est pas jalouse : elle fait confiance à Paul. (colon; also common)

Can we drop the subject pronoun in the second clause, and say …; fait confiance à Paul?

No. In French, the subject pronoun is normally required; you cannot drop it as in some languages.

So:

…; elle fait confiance à Paul. ✅
…; fait confiance à Paul. ❌ (sounds like an imperative or an incomplete sentence)

Each clause needs its own explicit subject (unless it is a special case like an imperative command).

Is it possible to say Marie est pas jalouse in spoken French?

In everyday informal speech, many native speakers drop ne and say:

Marie est pas jalouse.
Elle fait pas confiance à Paul.

This is very common in conversation, but it is not considered correct in formal or written French.
As a learner, you should:

Use ne … pas in writing and in exams:
- Marie n’est pas jalouse.
Recognize the spoken form without ne, but avoid using it until you are comfortable with register differences.