Positive to negative

Lesson 4.9 from positive to negative: Je ne veux plus de pommes, merci. I thought ne and pas always go together for negative. Is this another exception to the rule? Below is what I would have written. Je ne veux pas plus de pommes, merci. Aidez-moi s'il vous plaît.

The "plus" serves as the second "double negative" in lieu of "pas". Other negatives like "rien" or "aucun(e)" have a similar grammatical structure, where you would say ne ... rien, ne ... aucun(e), and not use "pas". It's a little tricky because "plus" sounds positive but functions as a negative ("no more").

Salut, Once again, that is a great explanation toru! It is important to remeber that is French there is not only one form of negation. Ne ... pas is the simplest and most basic form. Beyond this we have many that mean 'no more', 'hardly', 'not any' etc. However, despite the fact that there are different forms, it is only the second part that changes, the 'ne' will always be present. I hope this helps! - Marie-Claire