French grammar - Negative adverbs - jamais and plus

Negative adverbs - jamais & plus

A couple of negative pronouns that infer 'time' act like adverbs.

The most common are:

• ne..jamais means 'never' or 'not ever'

• ne..plus means 'no longer', 'not again' or 'no more'

• ne..nullement means 'by no means' or 'not at all'

• ne..guère means 'hardly' or 'scarcely'

Examples:
	Elle ne voyage jamais. She never travels.
	Tu n'es jamais à l'heure. You (familiar) are never in time.
	Je ne peux jamais faire la grasse matinée. I can never sleep in.
	Elle ne l'aime plus. She doesn't love him anymore.
	Pourquoi vous ne dites plus que vous êtes fatigué ? Why don't you say anymore that you (formal male singular) are tired?
	Ce n'est nullement vulgaire. It is by no means vulgar. vulgaire (adj) means 'vulgar'
	Je ne veux jamais grandir. I never want to grow up.
	Mes parents ne savent jamais où je suis. My parents never know where I am.
	Il ne se rend jamais compte que sa chemise est à l'envers. He never realizes that his shirt is inside out.
	Je ne suis nullement le seul avec cette opinion. I am by no means the only one with this opinion. opinion (f) means 'opinion' le seul is an abbreviation of la seule personne
	Elle ne veut plus lui parler. She doesn't want to talk to him anymore.
	Elle ne s'ennuie jamais. She is never bored. s'ennuyer means 'to be bored'
	Elle ne sort guère. She hardly goes out.
	Il ne mange guère. He hardly eats.
	Il n'y a guère d'espoir. There is hardly any hope. espoir (m) means 'hope'
	Ce n'est guère mieux. It's scarcely any better.
	Il n'y a jamais de sucre dans la maison. There is never any sugar in the house.
	aujourd'hui, il n'y a plus de trains pour la Bretagne. Today there are no more trains for Brittany.
	Le prix de l'or ne monte jamais beaucoup. The price of gold never goes up very much.
	Il ne reste plus. There is no more. OR No more remains. rester (verb) means 'to remain' rester can be used as an impersonal verb - il reste... for 'there remains…'
	Les artichauts ne sont jamais bons sur ce marché. Artichokes are never good in this market.
	Il ne travaille guère, mais il gagne beaucoup d'argent. He hardly works but he earns a lot of money. gagner (verb) means 'to earn' or 'to win'
	Ils n'ont jamais de réponse quand on leur demande. They never have an answer when we ask.
	Il n'est guère patient. He is not very (hardly) patient.
	Pourquoi n'y a-t-il jamais de serviettes propres dans la salle de bain ? Why are there never any clean towels in the bathroom? serviette (f) means 'towel' propre (m.f) means 'clean'
	Ils ne pensent jamais aux conséquences de leurs paroles. They (females) never think about the consequences of their words. conséquence (f) means 'consequence' parole (f) means 'speech' or '(a) spoken word'
	Ils ne dépensent jamais un centime ! They never spend a penny! dépenser (verb) means 'to spend' centime (m) means 'cent (euros)'
	Il ne faut jamais s'asseoir sur cette table. One must never sit down on this table.
	Léa n'habite plus à Strasbourg. Lea no longer lives in Strasbourg. habiter (verb) means 'to live (in)'
	Les travaux routiers ne sont nullement finis. The roadworks are by no means complete. travaux routiers (m.pl) means 'roadworks' complet (m) means 'complete'
	Ce n'est nullement la solution à ce problème difficile. This is by no means the solution to this difficult problem.