pas

Meaning

Noun

1. step, pace, footstep
2. strait, pass
3. thread, pitch (of a screw or nut)

Adv

The most common adverb of negation in French, typically translating into English as not, don't, doesn't, etc.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/pa/

Etymology

Inherited from Old French pas, from Latin passus.
Its use as an auxiliary negative adverb comes from an accusative use (Latin nec… passum) in negative constructions – literally “not… a step”, i.e. “not at all” – originally used with certain verbs of motion. In older French other nouns could also be used in this way, such as ne… goutte (“not… a drop”) and ne… mie (“not… a crumb”), but in the modern language pas has become grammaticalized.

Sentences

Ce gouvernement ne sait pas où il va .

This government doesn't know where it's going.

Elle , ne comprenait toujours pas les refus de son amie .

She still did not understand her friend's refusals.

Cependant , le Comte ne désespère pas de ramener son cerveau à la vie .

However, the Count does not despair of bringing his brain back to life.

L'absence de réponse ne retire pas de point .

The absence of a response does not remove a point.

Ah ! nous sommes dans des draps qui ne sont pas blanchis depuis un an .

Ah! we are in sheets that have not been bleached for a year.

L'intendance ne trouve pas mes pots-de-vin assez forts .

Stewardship doesn't find my bribes strong enough.

La littérature sérieuse l’ennuie, dit-on ; il ne la comprend pas .

Serious literature bores him, it is said; he does not understand it.

Le pas variable est contrôlé par un système hydraulique .

The variable pitch is controlled by a hydraulic system.