Je ne bois pas de boisson gazeuse le soir.

I do not drink soft drinks in the evening.

Breakdown of Je ne bois pas de boisson gazeuse le soir.

• je: I
• ne ... pas: not
• boire: to drink
• le soir: the evening
• la boisson gazeuse: the soft drink

Questions & Answers about Je ne bois pas de boisson gazeuse le soir.

Why does French need both ne and pas to say “not” in Je ne bois pas…?

French standard negation is formed with two parts around the verb:

• ne
  • verb
    • pas

So:

• Je bois = I drink
• Je ne bois pas = I do not drink

Historically, ne was the only negation, and pas was added for emphasis. Today, in normal written French you must use both.

In spoken French, people often drop ne and just say:

• Je bois pas de boisson gazeuse le soir.

That is common and natural in speech, but in careful writing you should keep ne.

Why is it de boisson gazeuse and not une boisson gazeuse or de la boisson gazeuse after pas?

In French, after a negative with ne…pas, the indefinite and partitive articles usually become de (or d’ before a vowel), no matter if the noun is singular or plural:

• J’ai une voiture. → Je n’ai pas de voiture.
• Je bois du lait. → Je ne bois pas de lait.
• Je mange des bonbons. → Je ne mange pas de bonbons.

So if the positive sentence is:

• Je bois une boisson gazeuse le soir.
  (I drink a fizzy drink in the evening.)

The negative becomes:

• Je ne bois pas de boisson gazeuse le soir.
  (I don’t drink any fizzy drink in the evening.)

The de here does the job of English “any” plus the article.

Exception: this change to de generally does not happen with the verb être:

• C’est une erreur. → Ce n’est pas une erreur. (not de erreur)

Why is boisson gazeuse singular and not boissons gazeuses in this sentence?

Both are grammatically possible, but they feel slightly different:

• Je ne bois pas de boisson gazeuse le soir.
  = I don’t drink any fizzy drink in the evening.
  (Talking about fizzy drink as a type, non‑specific.)

• Je ne bois pas de boissons gazeuses le soir.
  = I don’t drink fizzy drinks in the evening.
  (Emphasizes several kinds / instances of fizzy drinks.)

In practice, many speakers would probably say the plural for this idea:

• Je ne bois pas de boissons gazeuses le soir.

Your singular version is still correct and understandable; it just sounds slightly more like “I don’t drink fizzy drink” as a general substance.

What does le soir literally mean, and why is there a le?

Literally:

• le soir = the evening

However, French often uses le + time of day to talk about habitual actions, where English uses “in the …” or “…s”:

• le matin = in the mornings
• l’après-midi = in the afternoons
• le soir = in the evenings
• la nuit = at night

So:

• Je ne bois pas de boisson gazeuse le soir.
  = I don’t drink fizzy drinks in the evening / in the evenings (as a habit).

You do not say à le soir or dans le soir here. Just le soir.

Can I drop ne and say Je bois pas de boisson gazeuse le soir?

Yes, in informal spoken French people very often drop ne:

• Je ne bois pas de boisson gazeuse le soir. (full, standard)
• Je bois pas de boisson gazeuse le soir. (common spoken French)

This is normal in conversation, films, songs, etc.
For writing (exams, formal emails, homework), keep ne.

Where would jamais go if I want to say “I never drink fizzy drinks in the evening”?

You replace pas with jamais (never), and keep the same structure:

• ne
  • verb
    • jamais

So:

• Je ne bois jamais de boisson gazeuse le soir.
  = I never drink fizzy drinks in the evening.

In spoken French, again, people often drop ne:

• Je bois jamais de boisson gazeuse le soir.

Why is the adjective gazeuse after boisson and not before it?

In French, most adjectives normally come after the noun:

• une boisson gazeuse = a fizzy drink
• un livre intéressant = an interesting book
• une voiture rouge = a red car

Only certain common adjectives (often describing beauty, age, goodness, size, etc.) usually come before the noun, like:

• un petit chien
• une belle maison

Gazeux / gazeuse is not in that special group, so it goes after the noun:

• boisson gazeuse (literally: drink fizzy).

Why is it gazeuse and not gazeux?

Because adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe.

• boisson is feminine singular: une boisson
• The adjective gazeux (fizzy) has these forms:
  • masculine singular: gazeux
  • feminine singular: gazeuse
  • masculine plural: gazeux
  • feminine plural: gazeuses

So we need the feminine singular form to match boisson:

• une boisson gazeuse
• des boissons gazeuses

What is the difference between boisson gazeuse and soda in French?

Both are used, but they are not identical:

• une boisson gazeuse = any carbonated drink (fizzy drink), quite general.
• un soda = usually a sweet, branded soft drink (Coke, Fanta, Sprite, etc.).

Your sentence with soda would be:

• Je ne bois pas de soda le soir.

That sounds a bit more colloquial and specifically about soft drinks like cola, lemonade, etc., not things like sparkling water unless the context makes it clear.

How would the word order change if the verb were in the past, like “I didn’t drink fizzy drinks in the evening”?

With compound tenses (like the passé composé), the ne…pas go around the auxiliary verb, not the past participle.

Present:

• Je ne bois pas de boisson gazeuse le soir.

Passé composé:

• Je n’ai pas bu de boisson gazeuse le soir.
  ne / n’
  • ai (auxiliary) + pas
    • bu (past participle)

In spoken French, dropping ne:

• J’ai pas bu de boisson gazeuse le soir.