Ne . . . point and ne . . . pas

William C.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Ne . . . point and ne . . . pas

I read somewhere that ne ... pas and ne ...point were the first negative constructions in the evolution of the French language. I can just imagine someone trekking through the woods in Old French times and saying, "Not another step."  Or a tired monk in some scriptorium copying over an illegible text and saying, "Not another period."

Asked 3 years ago
CécileKwiziq team memberCorrect answer

That's interesting William,  I had not heard this before but after a bit of research it does look that

'ne...pas' was associated with 'marcher' (to walk) meaning that you can't walk another step.

'ne...point' with coudre ( to sew) so, you can't sew another stitch 

'ne...goutte' with boire,( to drink) so, you can't drink another drop

'ne...miette/mie' with manger ( to eat) so, you can't eat another crumb 

 

Very interesting, thank you for enriching my knowledge!

N. Hilary (Shamrockhill) W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

I just read with much interest Cecile's response to William's comment concerning the use of "ne...pas" and "ne...point":

'ne...pas' was associated with 'marcher' (to walk) meaning that you can't walk another step.

'ne...point' with coudre ( to sew) so, you can't sew another stitch 

'ne...goutte' with boire,( to drink) so, you can't drink another drop

'ne...miette/mie' with manger ( to eat) so, you can't eat another crumb 

Could someone give an example of this usage especially with:

 "ne...goutte, with boire"; and, 

"ne...miette/mie" with manger"?

Also, I, too, remember learning the use of "ne...point" as one of emphasis, but as the others in this discussion it was many years ago. 

Merci et Bonne Continuation

Ne . . . point and ne . . . pas

I read somewhere that ne ... pas and ne ...point were the first negative constructions in the evolution of the French language. I can just imagine someone trekking through the woods in Old French times and saying, "Not another step."  Or a tired monk in some scriptorium copying over an illegible text and saying, "Not another period."

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