French Reference Grammar - Verb forms

The negative

To make a verb negative, the particles 'ne' and 'pas' are placed around the verb. For example: 

'Je ne vais pas en ville': 'I’m not going into town'

Nothing can come between the verb and 'pas' except a subject pronoun when the verb is in the interrogative form. For example, 

'Ne regardez-vous pas le match de football?': 'Aren’t you watching the football match?'

• In speech the 'ne' is often elided or omitted completely, particularly by younger people and children. It is never omitted formally.