What Happens When There Are Two Verbs?

You now know how to negate a sentence if there is one verb. But what happens when there are two verbs – a conjugated one and an infinitive (a verb that is not conjugated)? Always remember that the ne…pas goes around the conjugated verb.

For example:

J’aime manger des escargots.

Je is the subject, aime is the conjugated verb, and manger is the infinitive.

Because manger isn’t conjugated, you don’t put ne...pas around it. Instead, put the ne...pas around the conjugated verb aime.

Je n’aime pas manger des escargots.

Remember that the –e drops off ne in front of a vowel.

Here is another example:
Elles préfèrent danser.

Elles is the subject, and préfèrent is the conjugated verb. So, you put the ne...pas around préfèrent.

Elles ne préfèrent pas danser.

View the table for additional examples and make sure you understand them before you go on to the practice.


Singular	Plural
Je ne préfère pas manger les escargots.	Nous n’aimons pas enseigner l’arabe en classe de français.
Tu ne penses pas travailler demain.	Vous ne préférez pas voyager en Allemagne.
Elle ne voudrait pas acheter un chien.	Ils n’aiment pas laver le chien.

Practice with negative sentences that contain infinitives by answering the questions. Remember to pay attention to the conjugated verb when deciding on the location of ne…pas.

The ne… pas goes around the conjugated verb.

Questions answered correctly:

Questions answered incorrectly:

Question

Where do you put the ne…pas in a sentence with an infinitive?

Do you see how to formulate negative sentences that contain an infinitive? It will get easier with more practice.

Run from the infinitive!

Let's have a look...

For example:

Which is the correct negative form?

Which is the correct negative form?

Which is the correct negative form?

Summary

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