The Correct Use of Jamais in French

The Correct Use of Jamais in French Many people who have learned French know that its a language with many tricky spellings. When writing in French, jamais  is one word that can be easily confused with another. So, first things first: always watch your spelling with this one! Jaimais,  when spelled with the added i, means I loved, or I was loving/liking/enjoying and comes from  the verb aimer. Whereas the word being discussed here, jamais, means never. Jamais is confusing because it takes the place of the pas in a negation. But on top of this, it can also translate as ever or never in English, which are two quite different notions. When does the French adverb jamais mean ever, and when does it mean never? The short answer is that it depends on the context and construction of the sentence.   Ne ... Jamais Means Never In a negative construction, jamais means never. For example, in the sentence: Je ne ferais jamais à §a.I would never do that. Jamais is one of the few words that can replace the pas part of the negative in a negation sentence. Some of the others are aucun, personne and  rien which are  French negative pronouns. Jamais  doesnt necessarily need to be placed directly after the verb. For emphasis, you can start your sentence with it as well as shown in the example below: Jamais je nai vu quelque chose daussi beau.I have never seen anything as beautiful. Note that in spoken modern French, the ne part of the negation often glides, or even totally disappears. So you need to train your ear to focus on the second part of the negation rather than relying on the first, the ne. Je nai jamais dit à §a sounds like: Jnay jamay di sa or even jay jamay di sa, but both pronunciations mean the same thing.   Jamais on Its Own Means Ever When used by itself without a negative, jamais means ever. We always use it in a question which is a very formal use of the word, or with si, in the expression si jamais meaning if ever. An example of the formal use of jamais in this context would be: Es-tu jamais allà © Paris?Have you ever been to Paris?Today, its more common to use dà ©j meaning already.Es-tu dà ©j allà © Paris? Si jamais tu vas Paris, tà ©là ©phone-moi.If you ever go to Paris, call me. If modern spoken French frequently drops the ne, how do you know if its ever or never? As mentioned earlier, you have to take into consideration the context of the sentence.   Finally, jamais is part of many expressions, all having to do with ever and never. French Expressions with Jamais Tu es plus belle que jamais mon amour. You are as beautiful as ever my love.Maintenant, ils seront ensemble jamais. Now, they will be together for ever.Je laime tout jamais. I love him forever and ever.Cest maintenant ou jamais. Its now or never.  Je nai jamais rien dit. I have never told anything. When reviewing different types of  French negative construction you will see there is more to negation than just ne and pas.