pas que

Only

Level 3

Pas que means only: Ai pas que cinc minutas.

How It Works

SentenceMeaning
Ai pas que cinc minutas.I have only five minutes.
I a pas qu'una cadièra.There is only one chair.
Parli pas qu'occitan a l'ostal.I speak only Occitan at home.
Joan a pas qu'un fraire.Joan has only one brother.

Compare Ai pas cinc minutas with Ai pas que cinc minutas. The first says I do not have five minutes. The second says I have five minutes and no more.

With a partitive, keep de after que: Maria manja pas que de legums.

The pattern is the same in every tense: Aviái pas qu'un fraire. (I had only one brother.)

Examples (5)

  1. I a pas qu'una cadièra.

    There is only one chair.

    Qu'una is que plus una, with the elision.

  2. Ai pas que cinc minutas.

    I have only five minutes.

    Pas que limits the time to cinc minutas.

  3. Parli pas qu'occitan a l'ostal.

    I speak only Occitan at home.

    Qu'occitan means only Occitan.

  4. Joan a pas qu'un fraire.

    Joan has only one brother.

    Pas qu'un is only one.

  5. Maria manja pas que de legums.

    Maria eats only vegetables.

    De legums keeps the partitive de.

Common Mistakes

  • Dropping que, which turns only into a plain negative.

    Ai pas cinc minutas.
    Ai pas que cinc minutas.

    Without que, the sentence says I do not have five minutes at all.

How It Connects

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

pas queLevel 3Only

Learn This First

Pas que is a form of pas that means only, so negation with pas comes first.

Words in This Pattern

pasque