Learn Hardcore French: Personne ne veut parler de ce problème. - Nobody wants to talk about this problem.

So Personne ne veut… literally feels like “Nobody not wants…” to an English speaker, but in French it’s just the standard structure for “Nobody wants…”.

Where is pas? Why don’t we say Personne ne veut pas parler de ce problème?

With personne, you normally do not add pas. The word personne itself already expresses the negative idea (“no one”), so you just use:

Personne ne veut… = Nobody wants…
Personne ne vient. = Nobody is coming.
Personne n’a compris. = Nobody understood.

ne … pas is the basic negation for regular verbs (e.g. Je ne veux pas parler = I don’t want to talk), but when you use personne, rien, jamais, etc., that word replaces pas.

Does personne mean “nobody” or “anyone”? I’ve seen both translations.

It depends on the type of sentence and the context:

In statements, personne usually means “nobody / no one”:
- Personne ne veut parler. = Nobody wants to talk.
In questions or after certain verbs, it can correspond to “anyone”:
- Est-ce que personne ne veut parler de ce problème ?
  Literally: “Is it that nobody wants to talk about this problem?”
  Pragmatically: “Doesn’t anyone want to talk about this problem?”
In short answers, it can function like “nobody / no one”:
- Qui veut parler ? – Personne. = “Who wants to speak?” – “No one.”

So the core meaning is “no person,” but depending on the sentence type, English may prefer “nobody” or “anyone”.

Can personne go after the verb, like Ne veut parler de ce problème personne?

No, not in normal modern French. With personne as the subject, the standard order is:

Personne + ne + [verb] (+ rest of the sentence)

So you say:

Personne ne veut parler de ce problème.

Not:

✗ Ne veut parler de ce problème personne. (wrong in modern usage)

You can see personne after the verb when it’s not the subject, e.g.:

Je ne vois personne. = I don’t see anyone.
Il n’a aidé personne. = He helped no one.

Here, the subject is je / il, and personne is the object. But when personne is the subject (“nobody wants…”), it comes at the start.

Why is the verb veut in the singular if personne refers to more than one person?

In French, the verb agrees with the grammatical subject, not with the “real-world” idea of how many people are involved.

Personne is grammatically singular.
Therefore, the verb is also singular: veut (3rd person singular).

Compare:

Tout le monde veut parler. = Everybody wants to talk.
(tout le monde is also grammatically singular → veut)

Even though “nobody” and “everybody” refer to groups of people conceptually, in French the subject is treated as a singular noun.

Why do you say parler de ce problème and not just parler ce problème or parler sur ce problème?

The verb parler needs a preposition in French when you mention the topic:

parler de [quelque chose] = to talk about [something]

So you must say:

parler de ce problème = talk about this problem
parler de lui = talk about him
parler de politique = talk about politics

parler ce problème is incorrect; parler doesn’t take a direct object for “topic”.

parler sur is only used in special cases (e.g. un livre qui parle sur… is very colloquial and often judged incorrect; standard is parler de). For normal “talk about X,” you should stick to parler de X.

Can I say parler au sujet de ce problème instead of parler de ce problème? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say it, but there’s a nuance:

parler de ce problème
– most common, neutral, natural in everyday speech
– simply “talk about this problem”
parler au sujet de ce problème
– a bit more formal or explicit, often in writing or careful speech
– literally “speak on the subject of this problem”

In most contexts, parler de ce problème is the default and sounds more natural.

Why is it ce problème and not le problème? What’s the nuance?

Both are possible, but they don’t feel exactly the same:

ce problème = this problem (demonstrative)
→ You’re pointing to a specific problem, often one that’s been mentioned or is very present in the situation:
- Personne ne veut parler de ce problème.
  “Nobody wants to talk about this (particular) problem.”
le problème = the problem (definite article)
→ Refers to a known / identified problem, but without the “this/that” pointing feeling:
- Personne ne veut parler du problème.
  “Nobody wants to talk about the problem.”

In practice, ce problème often feels a bit more immediate or pointed: the speaker is drawing attention to that specific issue, sometimes with emotional weight.

In spoken French, can you drop ne and just say Personne veut parler de ce problème?

In informal spoken French, many people do drop ne, even though it’s still required in standard grammar.

So you’ll hear:

Personne veut parler de ce problème. (informal, common in speech)
Personne ne veut parler de ce problème. (standard, correct in writing and careful speech)

For writing, for exams, or in formal contexts, you should keep ne.

For listening, be aware that you’ll often hear it omitted in everyday conversation.

How would I say “Nobody here wants to talk about this problem”? Where does ici go?

You have some flexibility. Common options include:

Personne ici ne veut parler de ce problème.
Ici, personne ne veut parler de ce problème.

Both are natural. Placing ici at the beginning adds a bit of emphasis on “here”.

Putting ici at the very end:

Personne ne veut parler de ce problème ici.

is also possible, but can sometimes sound like you mean “in this place” as opposed to “elsewhere”, so context matters.

How would this sentence look in the past or future?

You keep the Personne ne … frame and change the verb:

Past (passé composé)
- Personne n’a voulu parler de ce problème.
  = Nobody wanted to talk / Nobody was willing to talk about this problem.
Imperfect (imparfait) (background, repeated action)
- Personne ne voulait parler de ce problème.
  = Nobody would talk / Nobody used to want to talk about this problem.
Future
- Personne ne voudra parler de ce problème.
  = Nobody will want to talk about this problem.

Note the n’ before a vowel sound: n’a voulu, ne voulait, ne voudra.

How do I say “Doesn’t anyone want to talk about this problem?” in French?

There are a couple of natural ways:

Keep personne and use rising intonation or a question structure:
- Personne ne veut parler de ce problème ? (intonation question)
  Literally: “Nobody wants to talk about this problem?” → Often used like “Doesn’t anyone want to talk about this problem?”
Use quelqu’un (someone/anyone), which is often more neutral:
- Est-ce que quelqu’un veut parler de ce problème ?
- Quelqu’un veut parler de ce problème ? (spoken intonation)

Option 1 sounds more like a frustrated or rhetorical question, similar to English “Doesn’t anyone…?”. Option 2 is a straightforward question: “Does anyone want to…?”.

Can I replace de ce problème with a pronoun, like “it”? How would that work?

Yes. When you have de + [a thing], you usually replace it with the pronoun en:

Personne ne veut parler de ce problème.
→ Personne ne veut en parler.

Here:

en replaces de ce problème
The word order is:
Personne ne veut en parler.
subject – ne – verb – en – infinitive

More examples:

Je parle de ce projet. → J’en parle.
Nous allons parler de ce problème. → Nous allons en parler.

So if the context is clear, you can shorten the original sentence to:

Personne ne veut en parler. = Nobody wants to talk about it.