Breakdown of Je ne veux pas de mayonnaise avec mes frites, et Marie non plus.
Questions & Answers about Je ne veux pas de mayonnaise avec mes frites, et Marie non plus.
Why is it de mayonnaise and not de la mayonnaise?
In French, after a negated verb, de / d' usually replaces the indefinite or partitive article.
So:
- Positive: Je veux de la mayonnaise. = I want some mayonnaise.
- Negative: Je ne veux pas de mayonnaise. = I don’t want any mayonnaise.
This is a very common pattern:
- J’ai du pain → Je n’ai pas de pain
- Il boit du lait → Il ne boit pas de lait
So de mayonnaise is exactly what you expect after ne ... pas.
Why does the sentence use ne ... pas around veux?
Ne ... pas is the standard way to make a sentence negative in French.
Here, the verb is veux (I want), so the negation goes around it:
- Je veux = I want
- Je ne veux pas = I do not want
This is the normal pattern with most verbs:
- Il mange → Il ne mange pas
- Nous savons → Nous ne savons pas
In everyday spoken French, people often drop ne and say:
- Je veux pas de mayonnaise
But in standard written French, ne ... pas is the correct full form.
Why is it veux and not veut?
Because the subject is je (I), and the verb vouloir has to match that subject.
Present tense of vouloir:
- je veux = I want
- tu veux = you want
- il/elle/on veut = he/she/one wants
- nous voulons = we want
- vous voulez = you want
- ils/elles veulent = they want
So:
- Je veux = correct
- Je veut = incorrect
Why does French say mes frites — literally my fries?
French often uses a possessive where English would not.
Here, mes frites means my fries, but in natural English we would usually just say fries or my fries depending on context. In French, using mes sounds very normal because it refers to the fries that belong to the speaker’s meal or portion.
This happens a lot in French:
- J’ai mal à la tête = I have a headache
(literally not my head, but French structures possession differently here) - Il a pris son manteau = He took his coat
So avec mes frites is a natural way to say with my fries.
Why is it avec mes frites? Could French use another preposition?
Avec simply means with, and here it expresses accompaniment: mayonnaise served together with the fries.
So:
- de la mayonnaise avec mes frites = mayonnaise with my fries
That is the most natural choice in this context.
You might sometimes hear sur les frites if you specifically mean on top of the fries, but that changes the focus.
Avec is broader and more natural for ordering or talking about food combinations.
What does non plus mean here?
Non plus means neither or not ... either in a negative context.
So:
- Je ne veux pas de mayonnaise ... et Marie non plus.
- = I don’t want mayonnaise, and Marie doesn’t either / neither does Marie.
It is the negative counterpart of aussi:
- Positive: Je veux de la mayonnaise, et Marie aussi. = I want mayonnaise, and Marie does too.
- Negative: Je ne veux pas de mayonnaise, et Marie non plus. = I don’t want mayonnaise, and Marie doesn’t either.
A very common expression is:
- Moi non plus = Me neither
Why doesn’t the sentence repeat the verb after Marie?
Because French, like English, often leaves out words that are already understood.
Full version:
- Je ne veux pas de mayonnaise avec mes frites, et Marie ne veut pas de mayonnaise avec ses frites non plus.
That is grammatical, but repetitive.
So French shortens it to:
- ... et Marie non plus.
This kind of omission is very common and natural.
Could I say et Marie aussi instead of et Marie non plus?
Not in this sentence.
Because the first part is negative (Je ne veux pas...), French uses non plus, not aussi.
Compare:
- Je veux de la mayonnaise, et Marie aussi. = I want mayonnaise, and Marie does too.
- Je ne veux pas de mayonnaise, et Marie non plus. = I don’t want mayonnaise, and Marie doesn’t either.
So aussi goes with positive ideas, and non plus goes with negative ones.
Why is frites plural?
Would a French speaker actually say this in real life?
Yes, absolutely. It sounds natural.
In everyday speech, many speakers would make it a little more informal by dropping ne:
But the full written version:
- Je ne veux pas de mayonnaise avec mes frites, et Marie non plus.
is standard, correct, and completely natural.
Is there any difference between Je ne veux pas de mayonnaise and Je ne voudrais pas de mayonnaise?
Yes. Je ne veux pas is direct: I don’t want.
Je ne voudrais pas is softer and more polite: I wouldn’t like or I would not want.
So:
- Je ne veux pas de mayonnaise = straightforward, normal
- Je ne voudrais pas de mayonnaise = more polite, more gentle, often used when ordering
Both are correct. The sentence you have is simple and direct.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning FrenchMaster French — from Je ne veux pas de mayonnaise avec mes frites, et Marie non plus to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions