When learning French, one of the essential skills is knowing how to express agreement or disagreement with positive and negative statements. In this episode of The Coffee Break French Show, we’ll dive into the nuances of using moi si, pas moi / moi non, moi non plus and moi aussi in French.
Understanding these expressions will significantly enhance your ability to communicate effectively in French conversations. So, let’s explore how to say “yes” in French in various contexts.
To get the most out of this article, we’d suggest watching the video or listening to the podcast episode as you read. And don’t forget to look out for your free worksheet download at the end, to help you practise everything you learn. C’est parti !
Positive statement: agreement and disagreement
When you want to agree with a positive statement, you use moi aussi in French. Or, if you want to disagree, you use pas moi or moi non.
Here are some examples:
– J’habite en Écosse.
– Moi aussi.
– I live in Scotland.
– Me too.
– Je suis français.
– Pas moi. / Moi non.
– I am French.
– Not me. / I’m not.
Negative statement: agreement and disagreement
When responding to a negative statement, the expressions change. To agree with a negative statement, you use moi non plus. To disagree, you use moi si.
Let’s see some examples:
– Je ne suis pas japonais.
– Moi non plus.
– I am not Japanese.
– Me neither.
– Je ne parle pas allemand.
– Moi si.
– I don’t speak German.
– I do.
You will know oui to translate “yes”, but when you want to say “yes” after a negative sentence, the only option is si.
Understanding positive and negative statements
It’s important to distinguish between positive and negative statements in terms of grammar. For instance, “I hate broccoli” is grammatically a positive statement, despite its negative connotation.
The key is to focus on the grammatical structure. This means that while “I hate broccoli” is grammatically a positive statement, “I don’t hate broccoli” is grammatically a negative statement, because the verb “hate” is negated.
Practical examples
Let’s test your understanding with a few more examples. Try to identify whether the statements are positive or negative and pay attention to the appropriate response.
– Je n’ai pas de sœur.
– Moi si.
– I don’t have a sister.
– I do.
– Je joue au volley.
– Moi non. / Pas moi.
– I play volleyball.
– I don’t.
– Je ne suis jamais allé en Jamaïque.
– Moi non plus.
– I have never been to Jamaica.
– Me neither.
– T’es jamais allé en Irlande ?
– Si.
– You’ve never been to Ireland?
– I have.
– T’es déjà allé en Irlande ?
– Oui.
– Have you ever been to Ireland?
– Yes.
Here, from the last two examples, we can see that the presence of a negative word in the sentence changes everything. You can say oui if the question does not contain a negation, but you have to say si if there is a negation – here, jamais.
Below is an example using a different negation, ne … plus, which means “not any more”, “no more” or “no longer”.
– Tu n’as plus de café ?
– Si.
– Do you not have any more coffee?
– I do.
This pattern of using si following a negative statement works with all other negative constructions, such as:
ne … jamais
never
ne … personne
nobody, no one
ne … rien
nothing
ne … nulle part
nowhere
ne … pas
not
ne … pas encore
not yet
This list is not exhaustive, but these are some of the most common negative words in French.
Extending beyond ‘moi’
While we’ve been focusing on moi non plus, moi si, pas moi and moi aussi in French, it is important to notice that these structures work with other pronouns as well. For example, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux and elles follow the same pattern. And these expressions can be used with nouns, too.
Examples with pronouns
Let’s look at this in more detail with some examples:
Moi, je ne suis jamais allé à Chypre, mais toi si.
I’ve never been to Cyprus, but you have.
Il aime les croissants – elle aussi.
He likes croissants – she does too.
Elle ne parle pas espagnol – vous si.
She doesn’t speak Spanish – you do.
Examples with nouns
Now, here are some examples using nouns instead of pronouns.
J’adore les croissants et j’adore le chocolat aussi.
I love croissants and I love chocolate, too.
Je n’aime pas les oignons et (je n’aime pas) les concombres non plus.
I don’t like onions and I don’t like cucumbers either.
Je n’aime ni les oignons ni les concombres.
I like neither onions nor cucumbers.
Note that this final example uses a different construction – ni … ni – which you may know as an alternative way of expressing ne … pas … non plus.
Responding to multiple statements
When dealing with multiple statements, it’s essential to react to the last statement, not the original. This ensures clarity and correctness in your responses.
Think about the following situation. Imagine you are eating with three friends at a restaurant and the waiter asks if you want coffee. The first person can reply by saying either oui or non. If the first person to answer says non, it means that the second person now has to react to a negative statement, and the only two options would be moi non plus (if they don’t want a coffee either), or moi si (if they do want a coffee). If the second person does want a coffee and says moi si, it means we are back to a positive statement and person 3 will have to say moi aussi in French if they do want a coffee, or pas moi / moi non if they do not want a coffee.
Let’s look at an example sequence of statements, which will help to make this clearer. Pay attention to which response is used in each statement, depending on whether the previous one was positive or negative.
La France est en Europe.
France is in Europe.
L’Italie aussi.
Italy too.
Pas le Brésil. / Le Brésil, non.
Brazil isn’t.
Le Japon non plus.
Japan isn’t either.
La Belgique si !
Belgium is!
L’Espagne aussi.
Spain too.
La Chine, non. / Pas la Chine.
China isn’t.
L’Australie non plus.
Australia isn’t either.
Le Chili non plus.
Chile either.
Le Portugal si.
Portugal is.
In this article, we have also seen many examples of the names of countries, languages and nationalities. Did you notice which ones are capitalised in French and which are not? For more help with French capitalisation rules, you can find another episode of The Coffee Break French Show here.
Mastering how to say “yes” in French, especially using expressions like moi aussi, pas moi / moi non, moi non plus and moi si, is crucial for effective communication. These expressions help you agree or disagree appropriately with positive and negative statements, enhancing your fluency and confidence in French conversations. Additionally, knowing the difference between moi aussi in French and si in French helps you navigate through agreements and disagreements seamlessly.
However, these expressions can be tricky to get your head around, so for more detailed explanations make sure to watch the video episode with Max and Mark on The Coffee Break French Show, or you can find the podcast version below, or wherever you get your podcasts. And for more lessons from Coffee Break French, you can subscribe to our podcast feed and our YouTube channel.
Additionally, you can sign up for our email lessons to receive regular updates and free learning materials directly to your inbox. Just look out for the sign-up box.
For now, keep practising these responses, and in doing so, you’ll become more adept at how to say non plus, si, pas or aussi in French more naturally and handle various conversational contexts with ease.
Happy Coffee Breaking!
