landynxvi

[proven wedge]

Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

Pro tip: you can rename the thread title with `.tr <thread name>`

Make it descriptive, including relevant context, but also to the point. This way you improve your chances of getting a more relevant and specific answer.

[heady falcon]

Correction: « Il n'obéira pas* la professeure »
Don't forget the negating adverb, that's the more important part!

Anyway, what you're talking about is the difference between « ne … pas » and « ne … que ». Both indicate negation but « ne … que » is a special case; it's commonly translated as 'only' but it's more accurate to translate it as 'nothing but' which preserves its negativity.

« Ils n'obéissent qu'à la personne supérieure »
-> They obey only the superior person
-> They obey nothing/no one but the superior person

[pastel meadow]

I see, thank you! Another question, why and when do you put in "pas"?

[heady falcon]

Negation in French involves two parts: the postsubject « ne » and the adverb « jamais/pas/plus, etc ». The adverb is almost always placed after the conjugated verb: exceptions are « personne, nulle part, aucun.e ». « que » in « ne … que » is not mentioned since it's not an adverb, just a restriction.

The adverb existed to strengthen the original negative particle, « ne », before supplanting it altogether. In Modern French, you can drop the « ne » and people will still understand the negation.