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1512, Robert Copland, The History of Helyas, Knight of The Swan:
And whan the good quene herde these pyteous tydynges lytel lacked that the ne dyed for sorowe / wherfore all lamentably the began to complayne her sayenge.
Mary (quoth the king) so might me mine, ne haddest thou been Earle Godwine: casting in his dish the murder of his brother Alfred, which was done to death at Elie by the Counsell of Godwine.
As when a ship, that flyes faire vnder saile, / An hidden rocke escaped hath vnwares, / That lay in waite her wrack for to bewaile, / The Marriner yet halfe amazed stares / At perill past, and yet it doubt ne dares / To ioy at his foole-happie ouersight.
But when he spoke, his plenteous words did flow / Like to thick-falling flakes of winter snow, / Ne any couth his wit so hiely straine.
1614, John Davies of Hereford, Eclogue Between Young Willy the SInger of His Native Pastorals, and Old Wernocke His Friend:
Now, siker ( Wernocke ) thou hast split the marke / Albe that I ne wot I han mis-song: / But, for I am so yong, I dread my warke / Woll be misualued both of old and yong.
1484, Original Letters, King Edward the Fifth, under the direction of his Uncle, to Otes Gilbert, Esq., commanding him to receive Knighthood at the expected Coronation:
That than I shall not geve therunto faith ne credence, nor therfore put them to any maner ponyssement, before that they or any of them so accused may be at their lawful defence and answer.
1489, The gouernayle of helthe:
And therin is no drede nor bytternes ne expences, but therin is pure recreacyon of body and of soule soo it be donn in clene places.
1489, The gouernayle of helthe:
Be not to hasty ne sodenly vengeable, to poure folke doo no vyolence.
1489, The gouernayle of helthe:
Moreouer no man be so hardy to drynk fastyng cold water, ne after that he hath accompanyed wyth a woman, ne after gret trauayle, ne after exersice tyll he haue fyrst rested hym, ne by nyght namely yf he haue do gloue tofore.
1500, The Example of Euyll Tongues:
A false tonge wyll euer Imagyne and saye / That neuer by creature was sayd ne thought.
For chastyce can he not by daye ne nyght his wyfe but by his betynge maketh lyght and hote the loue bytwene her and her frende.
1511, The Records of the City of Norwich:
Item, that noo woman nor maide weyve any worsted stamynges ne sayes for that that thei be nott of sufficient powre to werke the said worsteddes as thei owte to be wrought, upon payne of iij s iiij d as often as thei be founde wevyng to be devyded and leuyed in maner and forme aboue expressed.
1520, Richard Pynson, The Lyfe of The Blessed Martyr Saynte Thomas:
That they shulde no lenger kepe ne susteyne Thomas the archebysshope.
1526, The Grete Herball:
The rote ought to be gadered in the begynnynge of somer and dryed in the sonne bycause [tha]¬t it corrupt ne rotte bycause of the moystnesse[,] & it may be kept two yeres;
1535, Thomas Elyot, The Education or Bringing up of Children:
For lyinge is a detestable vice, and to be hated of all men, ne to be suffred amonge seruantis ne other persones[,] howe poure estate so euer they be of.
Thus some persones beeyng inuited and exhorted to falle to the studie of lettres, make their excuse that thei bee sickely, that thei can not slepe ne take their naturall reste in the nightes.
We Moores be not so base of wit, ne yet so blunt of mynd.
c.1560, Edward Gosynhill, The Schoolhouse of Women:
The deuyll gossyp, ought me a shame / And prayde I am nowe, euerye penye I wolde god he had, be blinde and lame / The daye and houre, he fyrste woed me / Ware not gossyp, these chyldren thre I wolde not tary, ye may be sure / Longer with hym, daye ne houre.
Ne on her teares or plaint, at all to have remorse, but (if they can not with her will,) to bring the mayde perforce.
1570, John Thynne, The Debate betweene Pride and Lowlines:
His hart encreaseth not thereby ne lesseth as edoon these fooles.
1577, The Hereford Municipal Manuscript:
And that no victualer ne other person or persons forestall any kynde of victualls cominge to the said Cyty or within the precyncte of the same before the same victualls be come to the place.
1587, George Gascoigne, Francis Kinwelmershe, Jocasta:
Ioc: How can that be and thou my ioy in warre? Po: Henceforth n'am I your ioy ne yet your sonne.
ne cannot be used more than once as the object of a given verb.
While ne is usually used to replace phrases beginning with the preposition de, adverbial phrases (eg de pressa) are replaced with hi.
ne is sometimes used instead of ho to replace an adjective or indefinite noun as the predicate of a verb.
ne is sometimes used popularly to add emphasis to a sentence: in this sense, it has no translation in English.
-ne is the full (plena) form of the pronoun. It is normally used after verbs ending with a consonant or ⟨u⟩, or between some adverbs/pronouns and a verb. In some varieties of Catalan (Balearic/Valencian) it can also occur in sentence-initial position.
ne is used primarily in dialects that retain the three-way gender split. It is only used for masculine words, while een is used for feminine and neuter words.
The form nen is used before vowels (as the English an) and certain consonants (commonly b, d and t), differing from dialect to dialect.
The case suffixes are mostly regular (except the inessive and elative singular). Abessive is never used in the singular and extremely seldom in the plural. Instructive niin is more or less a theoretical construction, since it has developed into an adverb, and its current meaning cannot be derived from ne.
“ne”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-03
Bruno se rendit compte qu’il ne serait jamais accepté par les hippies[…].
Bruno realised that he'd never be accepted by the hippies.
2012 May 3, Le Monde:
"Il n’y a pas eu un truc auquel on ne s’attendait pas", affirme Stéphane Le Foll.
"There wasn't anything we weren't expecting," stated Stéphane Le Foll.
Used in a subordinate clause before a subjunctive verb (especially when the main verb expresses doubt or fear), to provide extra overtones of doubt or uncertainty (but not negating its verb); the so-called "pleonastic" or "expletive" ne.
1829, Victor Hugo, Le Derner Jour d'un Condamné, section XXVII:
Ah! mes cheveux blanchiront avant que ma tête ne tombe!
Oui, mais je crains qu’elle ne soit plus malade qu’elle ne l’avoue, repartit l’abbé.
"Yes, but I think she might be more ill than she's letting on," the priest replied.
In comparative clauses usually translated with the positive sense of the subsequent negative
Apprendre le français est plus facile qu’on ne pense.
Learning French is easier than you (might) think.
Usage notes
Typically, ne follows the subject and is itself followed by the verb and:
a negative adverbial (pas(“not; don't/doesn't”), plus(“no more, no longer”), jamais(“never”), guère(“hardly”), or (now literary) point(“not a bit”));
a nominal element modified by a negative determiner (aucun or nul, both meaning "no", "not a") — note that these phrases can take on nominal, pronominal or adverbial functions;
More mobile are negative pronouns, the most common being personne(“nobody”) and rien(“nothing”), which will follow ne and the verb if they function as the object complement of that verb, but if they are the subject of a given clause, they will usually sit at its head:
Personne ne s’en souviendra demain. ― Nobody will remember about it tomorrow.
Rien ne le dérange. ― Nothing bothers him.
In literary French (i.e., the most formal variety of the written language) certain verbs can be negated with ne alone (without another negating element like pas). Nowadays, this list is restricted chiefly to the verbs pouvoir, savoir, cesser, oser, and daigner. Less formal registers still require coordination with another negative element.
In colloquial (i.e., spoken) French, ne is often omitted, leaving the other negating element (pas, plus, rien, personne, etc.) to indicate the sentence's negative state on its own (unless more than one of these elements is already present).
Je veux pas ça. ― I don't want that.
Il attend personne. ― He's not waiting for anyone.
J’en ai plus besoin. ― I don't need it anymore.
On va nulle part. ― We're not going anywhere.
In some regions, ne has disappeared from spoken language either entirely or nearly so. Even when it is included in spoken form, the weak "e" is often elided, causing the remaining /n/ to assimilate into nearby words. Compare a few possible versions of the above example, Je veux pas ça, more or less rising in levels of formality:
J’ veux pas ça./ʒ‿vø pɑ sa/
Je veux pas ça./ʒə vø pɑ sa/
Je n’ veux pas ça./ʒə̃ vø pɑ sa/
Je ne veux pas ça./ʒə nə vø pɑ sa/, /ʒə‿n.vø pɑ sa/
Ne felejtsd el! or (more emphatically) El ne felejtsd! ― (Mind you) don't forget it!
Miért ne? (= Miért ne csináljuk/tegyük?) ― Why not? (literally, “Why shouldn't ?”)
Bár ne tettem volna! ― I wish I hadn't done it.
Ne lopj! ― Thou shalt not steal.
Usage notes
Used before the verb in an imperative clause (or sometimes a conditional clause expressing a wish or desire) to negate that clause; ne is always used instead of nem in the imperative mood.
ne in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
1936, L. G. Terehova, V. G. Erdeli, translated by Mihailov and P. I. Maksimov, Geografia: oppikirja iƶoroin alkușkoulun kolmatta klaassaa vart (ensimäine osa), Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-Pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 6:
In modern usage but not traditional usage, this word actively blocks syntactic gemination of its initial consonant. Hence peròneprendo(“I (will) take some”) is pronounced /peˈrɔ ne ˈprɛndo/ in modern usage, but /peˈrɔ‿nne ˈprɛndo/ traditionally, since però normally triggers syntactic gemination.
Third person pronominal forms used as formal terms of address to refer to second person subjects (with the first letter frequently capitalised as a sign of respect, and to distinguish them from third person subjects). Unlike the singular forms, the plural forms are mostly antiquated terms of formal address in the modern language, and second person plural pronouns are almost always used instead.
2
Also used as indefinite pronoun meaning “one”, and to form the passive.
This word triggers syntactic gemination of the following consonant, and may or may not block syntactic gemination of its initial consonant (contrast the pronominal usage above).
Massimo Troisi non ha vinto un oscar per la sua interpretazione neIl postino.
Massimo Troisi did not win an Oscar for his performance inIl Postino.
Usage notes
The contraction ne is used where nel, nella, etc., would ordinarily be used, but cannot be because the article is part of the title of a film, book, etc.
In South Karelian, the medial determiners are used instead of the distal series. Dialectally, the determiners are used as in North Karelian, distinguishing all three series.
References
A. V. Punzhina (1994) “ne”, in Словарь карельского языка (тверские говоры) [Dictionary of the Karelian language (Tver dialects)], →ISBN
P. Zaykov, L. Rugoyeva (1999) “ne”, in Карельско-Русский словарь (Северно-Карельские диалекты) [Karelian-Russian dictionary (North Karelian dialects)], Petrozavodsk, →ISBN
Pertti Virtaranta, Raija Koponen (2009) “ne”, in Marja Torikka, editor, Karjalan kielen sanakirja, Helsinki: Kotus, →ISSN
+ future imperative, introduces a prohibition or negative command in general directions serving for all time, as precepts, statutes, and proverbs: do not, don’t
sī reliquam partem hiemis ūnō locō legiōnēs continēret, nē stipendiāriīs Aeduōrum expugnātīs cūncta Gallia dēficeret
lest if he should confine his legions in one place for the remaining part of the winter, all Gaul would revolt when the stipendiaries of the Aedui were subdued
From Proto-Indo-European*né-h₁(“that way, so”), which consists of *áno-(“yonder”, pronomial stem, distal) + *-h₁(modal and instrumental suffix). Cognate with Ancient Greekνή(nḗ, “yes, indeed”) and Proto-Germanic*-nā(emphatic suffix after adverbs) which features in Icelandicsvona(“so”), hérna(“here”), and þarna(“there”).[1] The same pronominal stem is also present in the words enim(“for; truly”), nempe(“indeed”), and nam(“for”).
At enim te in disciplinam meam tradideras—nam ita dixisti—domum meam ventitaras. Ne tu, si id fecisses, melius famae, melius pudicitiae tuae consuluisses.
You had however committed yourself to my instruction and frequented my house, or so you claimed. You would certainly have been more mindful of your virtue and reputation if you had!
References
^ Dunkel, George E. (2014) Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme [Lexicon of Indo-European Particles and Pronominal Stems] (Indogermanische Bibliothek. 2. Reihe: Wörterbücher) (in German), volume 2: Lexikon, Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter GmbH Heidelberg, →ISBN, pages 60, 62
Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.
Andrews, Enriqueta (1950) Vocabulario otomí de Tasquillo, Hidalgo (in Spanish), México, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, pages 19, 47, 74
Hernández Cruz, Luis, Victoria Torquemada, Moisés (2010) Diccionario del hñähñu (otomí) del Valle del Mezquital, estado de Hidalgo (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 45) (in Spanish), second edition, Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., page 210
Middle English lacks do-support. Instead, ne is simply used by itself: Puple deien, bot fame ne deieþ ("People die, but reputation does not die").
Middle English has negative concord, so negatives don't cancel out another, unlike formal English or Latin. ne is often accompanied by other negatives rather than used alone. Double, triple, and quadruple negatives are common: I ne oght no man noght ("I haven't owed anything to anyone," literally "I not owed no one nothing").
ne usually immediately precedes the verb; compare nought / nat, which usually follows it.
Catherine de Médicis, ne tarda pas à faire venir auprès de lui, en 1561, sa femme et ses enfants.
Catherine of Medicis did not hesitate to bring to him, in 1561, his wife and his children
Usage notes
As in modern French, may be used in combination with another adverb, such as ne... iamais, ne... pas, ne... gaire, ne... mie, ne... oncques, ne... poin(c)t and ne... rien(s), but such an adverb is not required.
(second-class) second-person singular personal pronoun (you, your)
Ne akanhemu reikú nhaãsé ne kirá reikú.
You are scared because you are fat.
Aé uputari upitá ne irũmu.
He wants to stay with you.
Ne manha uwiké uka pisasú upé.
Your mother enters the new house.
Usage notes
As a second-class pronoun, ne is used as the subject of a sentence when its verb is a second-class one (those verbs are sometimes referred to as adjectives). The personal pronoun ne is also used when governed by any postposition with the exception of arama and supé. Finally, ne is used as a possessive pronoun as well.
NAVARRO, Eduardo de Almeida (2016) Curso de língua geral (nheengatu ou tupi moderno): a língua das origens da civilização amazônica, 2nd edition, →ISBN, pages 11 and 106
Iċ… hlūde ċirme, healde mīne wīsan, hlēoþre ne mīþe,…
I… loudly cry out, hold my tone, don't hide a sound,…
Usage notes
Old English does not have do-support. Instead, ne is simply used by itself: Menn sweltaþ, ac hlīsa ne swilt ("People die, but reputation does not die").
Ne is placed immediately before the finite verb: Sēo lǣrestre ne meahte furðum mīnes naman ġemunan (“The teacher could not even remember my name”). It only goes before infinitives on the rare occasion when there is no finite verb to negate: Iċ wēne þæt þū sċyle forlǣtan and eft ne cuman ("I think you should leave and not come back"), Uton ne forspillan nāne tīd mā ("Let's not waste any more time").
Ne negates verbs. Other parts of speech are negated with nā: Earg iċ eom, nā lǣwa ("I'm a coward, not a traitor"), Iċ hīe fræġn "Hū wæs þīn færeld?" and hēo cwæþ "Nā yfel" ("I asked her 'How was your trip?' and she said "Not bad'"). Nā is also used when the verb is only implied: Ne rēċe iċ hwæðer mē hwā ġelīefe þē nā ("I don't care if anyone believes me or not"). Nā also negates tō-infinitives and participles: Þās þing ġedafenode tō dōnne and þā ōðru nā tō forlǣtenne ("It would have made sense to do these things and not to neglect the others").
Ne and its accompanying verb often come at the beginning of a sentence: Ne meahte nān mann tecnāwan hwelcre mægðe hē wǣre ("Nobody could tell what tribe he was," literally "Couldn't nobody tell what tribe he was").
Old English has negative concord, meaning one negative does not cancel out another. Double, triple, and quadruple negatives are very common: Ne sċolde iċ nǣfre nānum menn nāwiht ("I've never owed anything to anyone," literally "I never not owed no one nothing").
In a few verbs beginning with a vowel, h, or w, ne actually fuses with the verb, creating nesan(“to not be”), nabban(“to not have”), nyllan(“to not want”), nytan(“to not know”), and nāgan(“to not own”). In the West Saxon dialect (the dialect of most surviving texts and sometimes referred to as "standard" Old English), the contracted forms are the norm, while in other dialects the uncontracted forms ne wesan, ne habban, etc. are also common.
Conjunction
ne
(in negative phrases)or, andnot (optionally translated as "nor")
Þurh þissa þinga ġehāt sind cumene tō anwealde unmenn. Ac hīe lēogaþ, ne ġelǣstaþ hīe þæt ġehāt, ne hīe nǣfre nyllaþ!
By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie, they do not fulfill that promise, and they never will!
Nān mann hine ne cann, ne hē nānne mann ne furðum þæt ġeþēode.
No one knows him, and he doesn't know anyone or even the language.
ne... ne... is used to mean " or..." (optionally translated as "neither... nor...")
Iċ næbbe ne frīend ne fīend. Wrace iċ hæbbe.
I don't have friends or enemies. I have revenge.
Usage notes
In the phrase " or...", ne is often used consecutively for "or": Iċ nāt ne ne rēċe hwelċes cynnes fugol hit sīe, hit is mīn frēond ("I don't know or care what kind of bird it is, it's my friend").
Ne mother, ne father, ne friends, ne foes ne-knew what had worthen of him.
(please add an English translation of this usage example)
Usage notes
Ne is a negative particle and it is used preverbally, i.e. it is placed directly before a verb, for example,ː"What haps might chance me I ne knew" (William Fowler (makar), 1590) and "To suffer exile he said that he ne couth" (Gavin Douglas, Virgil's Aeneid, 1513). Now archaic and chiefly dialectal, it is still understood and used by a few rural speakers in Scotland and Northern England.
As a conjunction, it is placed immediately before the word it negates as inː ne mickle, ne little; Twas ne man, ne woman.. ne beast; ne rich, ne poor, ne bold, ne meek, ne stong, ne weak can escape God's wrath.
In urban areas and cities became displaced by na or nae.
^ Starostin, Sergei, Dybo, Anna, Mudrak, Oleg (2003) “*nē-”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8), Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill
Tuvaluan
Particle
ne
past tense marker, inserted immediately before the relevant verb