COMPLEX SENTENCE PRACTICE

Negatives in French

The structure is ne + verb + negative word; for example ne…pas means 'not'.

Negative + passé composé

Structure: ne + auxiliary + pas/jamais/etc + past participle; e.g., Je n’ai pas compris.

Negative with object pronoun

The pronoun comes before the auxiliary; e.g., Je ne l’ai jamais vu.

Imperfect + negative

Used for habits or descriptions in the past; e.g., Je ne mangeais jamais le matin.

Reflexive verbs in the past

Use être; the past participle agrees, e.g., Je me suis levé(e).

Negative + reflexive verb (past)

Structure: ne + reflexive pronoun + auxiliary + pas + past participle; e.g., Je ne me suis pas réveillé(e).

Imperfect + reflexive verb

Used for habitual past actions; e.g., Je me levais tôt.

Passé composé vs imperfect (reflexive)

Je me suis levé → specific moment; Je me levais → habit.

Complex comparison sentence

Example: Je ne comprenais rien quand le professeur a expliqué la règle.

Sentence-building checklist

Ask: 1. Past or not? 2. Finished or ongoing? 3. Need auxiliary? 4. Negative? 5. Reflexive?