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Learn Hardcore French: Ne touche pas mon ordinateur. - Do not touch my computer.

Hardcore French
/Lesson 43
/Ne touche pas mon ordinateur.

Ne touche pas mon ordinateur.

Ne touche pas mon ordinateur.

Do not touch my computer.

Breakdown of Ne touche pas mon ordinateur.

my (before a masculine singular noun)

Questions & Answers about Ne touche pas mon ordinateur.

Why does the sentence use ne … pas around the verb?

In French, basic negation is formed with two parts:

ne (or n’ before a vowel sound)
pas

They go around the conjugated verb.

So in Ne touche pas mon ordinateur:

touche is the verb (imperative of toucher, “to touch”)
ne comes before touche
pas comes after touche

Literally: ne + touche + pas = “do not touch”.

In regular (non-imperative) sentences, it works the same way:

Je touche l’ordinateur. → “I touch the computer.”
Je ne touche pas l’ordinateur. → “I do not touch the computer.”

Why is there no subject pronoun like tu in this sentence?

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The sentence is in the imperative mood (a command).
In French, when giving a direct command, you do not use the subject pronoun:

(Tu) touche ! → Touche ! (“Touch!”)
(Tu) ne touche pas ! → Ne touche pas ! (“Don’t touch!”)

So the tu is understood but omitted.
This is normal and required in the imperative:

Mange ! (Eat!)
Parlez ! (Speak!)
Allons-y ! (Let’s go!)

Why is it touche and not touches (with an -s at the end)?

This is because of a special rule for the imperative of -er verbs like toucher:

For tu in the imperative of regular -er verbs:

Present tense: tu touches (with -es)
Imperative: touche ! (drop the -s)

So:

Tu touches l’ordinateur. → “You touch the computer.”
Touche l’ordinateur ! → “Touch the computer!”
Ne touche pas mon ordinateur. → “Don’t touch my computer.”

The -s returns only in some special cases, especially when followed by y or en, for easier pronunciation:

Manges-en ! (Eat some!)
Vas-y ! (Go on!)

What’s the difference between Ne touche pas and Ne touchez pas?

Both mean “Don’t touch”, but they address different people:

Ne touche pas mon ordinateur.
- tu form (2nd person singular)
- Used with one person you’re on familiar terms with (friends, family, children, etc.)
Ne touchez pas mon ordinateur.
- vous form (2nd person plural / formal)
- Used with:
  - more than one person (plural “you”)
  - polite / formal “you” addressing one person (a stranger, your boss, a client, etc.)

English uses just “you”, but French needs you to choose between tu and vous, and that choice shows up in the imperative form: touche vs touchez.

Why is it mon ordinateur and not ma ordinateur?

In French, the possessive adjective (mon, ma, mes) agrees with the gender and number of the noun, not the owner.

ordinateur is a masculine singular noun.
For my + masculine singular noun, you must use mon.

So:

mon ordinateur (my computer) – masculine singular
ma table (my table) – feminine singular
mes livres (my books) – plural

Even if the speaker is female, it’s still mon ordinateur, because the noun’s gender controls the choice, not the person speaking.

Could I say Ne touche pas à mon ordinateur? Is that different?

Yes, you can say Ne touche pas à mon ordinateur, and it’s common in spoken French.

Difference in nuance:

Ne touche pas mon ordinateur.
- More literal: “Don’t touch my computer.”
- Focuses on the physical act of touching the object.
Ne touche pas à mon ordinateur.
- Often understood more broadly as:
  - “Don’t mess with my computer.”
  - “Don’t fiddle with / interfere with my computer.”
- The à can add the idea of getting involved with it, not just physically tapping it.

In many everyday contexts, both versions are possible and very close in meaning.
If you just want a simple “Don’t touch my computer,” the original sentence is perfectly fine.

How would I say “Don’t touch it” when “it” = the computer?

You would replace mon ordinateur with the pronoun le (masculine singular for “it”):

Ne le touche pas. → (informal tu)
Ne le touchez pas. → (formal/plural vous)

Structure:

ne
- le
  - touche / touchez
    - pas

Because ordinateur is masculine singular, you use le.

If it were a feminine noun, like la table, you’d use la:

Ne la touche pas. → “Don’t touch it (the table).”

Is ordinateur the only way to say “computer” in French?

Ordinateur is the standard word for “computer” in French.

Some common related words/variants:

un ordinateur – a computer (usually a desktop in many contexts)
un ordinateur portable – a laptop
un ordi – informal/short form of ordinateur, like “comp” for “computer”
- Ne touche pas à mon ordi. → “Don’t touch my computer.” (casual)

In everyday speech, people often say un ordi with friends, but in writing or in formal contexts, use un ordinateur.

How can I make this sentence sound more polite or softer?

You can keep the basic structure but add polite elements or rephrase:

Add please:
- Ne touche pas à mon ordinateur, s’il te plaît. (informal)
- Ne touchez pas à mon ordinateur, s’il vous plaît. (formal/plural)
Use a more formal construction:
- Veuillez ne pas toucher à mon ordinateur.
  (Very polite/formal: “Please do not touch my computer.”)
Soften with a reason or a hedge:
- Ne touche pas mon ordinateur, il est un peu fragile.
- Je préférerais que tu ne touches pas à mon ordinateur.
  (“I’d prefer it if you didn’t touch my computer.”)

How is Ne touche pas mon ordinateur pronounced?

Approximate pronunciation in IPA:
/nə tuʃ pa mɔ̃.n‿ɔʁ.di.na.tœʁ/

Key points for an English speaker:

Ne: often a very weak sound /nə/; in casual speech it may disappear (see next question).
touche: tou like “too”, che like “sh” → toosh.
pas: sounds like pa, with the s silent.
mon: nasal vowel, roughly “mohn” with air through the nose.
ordinateur:
- or like “or” in British English, but shorter and more rounded
- di like “dee”
- na like “nah”
- teur like “tœr” (a bit like “tur” but with rounded lips)

Spoken smoothly:

n(e) touche pas mon ordinateur → [n tuʃ pa mɔ̃ n‿ɔʁdi.na.tœʁ]

Do French speakers always say ne, or can they just say Touche pas mon ordinateur?

In informal spoken French, people often drop the “ne” in negation:

Ne touche pas mon ordinateur. → full, careful form
Touche pas mon ordinateur. → very common in casual speech

This dropping of ne happens all the time in conversation, films, and songs, but:

In writing, especially formal writing, you should keep both ne and pas.
For exams or careful speech, use ne … pas.

So you’ll hear Touche pas… a lot, but it’s safest to write Ne touche pas….

What tense or mood is touche in this sentence?

Here, touche is in the imperative mood, not a tense like present or past.

Mood expresses the function of the verb (order, fact, possibility…).
The imperative is used for commands, instructions, requests.

Compare:

Tu touches mon ordinateur.
→ Present indicative (a statement: “You touch / are touching my computer.”)
Ne touche pas mon ordinateur.
→ Imperative (a command: “Don’t touch my computer.”)

So:

Mood: imperative
Person understood: tu (2nd person singular)
Verb: toucher

How would I say “Don’t use my computer” instead of “Don’t touch my computer”?

You just change the verb:

Ne touche pas mon ordinateur. → “Don’t touch my computer.”
N’utilise pas mon ordinateur. → “Don’t use my computer.”

Notes:

utiliser = “to use”
In the negative:
- Because utilise starts with a vowel sound, ne becomes n’:
  - N’utilise pas mon ordinateur. (informal, tu)
  - N’utilisez pas mon ordinateur. (formal/plural, vous)

This is useful if you don’t just mean “don’t physically touch it,” but “don’t work on it / don’t log into it / don’t use it at all.”

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