French Articles After Negation

One of the small but important grammar rules in French is what happens to certain articles when a sentence becomes negative. You can download a PDF of this lesson guide in my private French Grammar Library.

In affirmative sentences, you use words like un, une, du, de la, de l’, and des to say a, an, or some. But when using French articles after negation, most of these change to de or d’.

This rule can feel confusing at first, especially since not all articles change, and there’s one major exception.

In this lesson, you’ll learn:

• Which articles change to “de” or “d’” after negation
• Which ones stay the same
• The exception with the verb être

Which articles change after negation?

The following indefinite and partitive articles change to “de” or “d’” after ne…pas (and other negatives like ne…plus, ne…jamais, etc.):

Article type	Positive form	Changes to…
indefinite	un, une, des	de / d’
partitive	du, de la, de l’	de / d’

✔️ Use these in positive sentences.

✔️ Change them to “de” or “d’” in negative sentences.

Using un or une (a / an):

Il a une pomme.	He has an apple.
Il n’a pas de pomme.	He doesn’t have an apple.

Using du / de la / de l’ (some):

Je mange du pain.	I’m eating (some) bread.
Je ne mange pas de pain.	I’m not eating (any) bread.
Elle boit de la limonade.	She’s drinking (some) lemonade.
Elle ne boit pas de limonade.	She isn’t drinking (any) lemonade.
Tu prends de l’eau?	Are you having some water?
Tu ne prends pas d’eau ?	Aren’t you having any water?

Using des (some, plural):

J’achète des cerises.	I’m buying (some) cherries.
Je n’achète pas de cerises.	I’m not buying (any) cherries.

Exception:  After the verb être, the article does NOT change.  Even in the negative, you keep the original article:

C’est une bonne idée.	It’s a good idea.
Ce n’est pas une bonne idée.	It’s not a good idea.
Ce sont des étudiants.	They are students.
Ce ne sont pas des étudiants.	They are not students.

What about le, la, les?

These are definite articles (the), and they do NOT change after negation.

Le – La – Les:  These stay the same in negative sentences.

J’aime le chocolat.	I like chocolate.
Je n’aime pas le chocolat.	I don’t like chocolate.
Elle regarde la télévision.	She’s watching television.
Elle ne regarde pas la télévision.	She’s not watching television.
Nous connaissons les voisins.	We know the neighbors.
Nous ne connaissons pas les voisins.	We don’t know the neighbors.

Remember:

• In negative sentences, say “Je n’ai pas de pain”, not “du pain”.

• If the verb is “être”, the article stays the same: Ce n’est pas une erreur.

• Definite articles like le, la, les never change, even after negation.

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