Negation With pas

Level 1

Put pas after the verb to say no.

How It Works

Occitan negates a verb with one word, pas, placed right after the verb. Take the positive sentence and add it.

PositiveNegative
Soi content.Soi pas content.
Parlam francés.Parlam pas francés.
Maria es aicí.Maria es pas aicí.

English needs "do not" for this; Occitan has no helping verb. The order is the same when the subject is a name: Maria es pas contenta. It is the same in a question: Perqué manjas pas?

French speakers: Occitan has no ne before the verb. In Occitan ne is another word that means "of it". Other negative words such as jamai and res come later.

Examples (4)

  1. Parli pas francés.

    I do not speak French.

    Pas follows the verb parli.

  2. Sèm pas a l'ostal.

    We are not at home.

    Pas follows sèm.

  3. Maria es pas contenta.

    Maria is not happy.

    Pas follows es; contenta still agrees.

  4. Joan manja pas aicí.

    Joan does not eat here.

    Pas follows manja.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting a French ne before the verb.

    Ne parli pas francés.
    Parli pas francés.

    In Occitan ne is a different word, meaning of it. The negative is pas alone.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Negation With pasLevel 1

Learn This First

Pas goes right after the verb, so a first verb comes before it.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

And 2 more in the full list.

Words in This Pattern

pas