This page assumes you already know the three constructions from How to Ask Questions in French, rising intonation, est-ce que, inversion. Here, we make those same questions negative, and watch what actually moves when we do. Press "Voir la transformation" on any card to play it.
ne / n' … pasconjugated verb or auxiliaryinverted subject pronounpast participle
Inversion
Nepart-ellepasen Suisse?
The subject-verb order here is already inverted, that's the inversion register itself, not something negation causes. Ne slots in before the verb and pas lands right after the pair, nothing moves any further.
Est-ce que
Est-ce qu'ellenepartpasen Suisse?
Que elides to qu' before elle, same vowel-elision logic as ne → n'. Otherwise no inversion, the subject just stays put.
Intonation
Ellenepartpasen Suisse?
Identical to a plain negative statement, and honestly this is how most negative questions get asked out loud. Only the rising tone (and the question mark, in writing) signals a question.
Inversion
N'est-ellepaspartieen Suisse?
It's the auxiliaryêtre that's inverted with elle here, not the participle, same mechanism as avoir, just a different auxiliary. That inversion already happened before negation entered the picture. Ne elides to n' because est starts with a vowel sound, and pas lands right after the pair.
Est-ce que
Est-ce qu'ellen'estpaspartieen Suisse?
Same shape as the présent version, just with an auxiliary and a participle riding along at the end.
Intonation
Ellen'estpaspartieen Suisse?
Again, identical to the statement Elle n'est pas partie en Suisse., just said with a question intonation.
The rule that never changes
Ne … pas always wraps around the conjugated piece, the verb itself in a simple tense like the présent, or the auxiliary (avoir / être) in a compound tense like the passé composé. The past participle is never part of ne … pas itself. It always comes after pas, no matter which of the three constructions you're using, notice in the animation above that it never moves and never disappears, it's already there in the affirmative sentence. Only ne and pas are actually new.
Inversion with je is grammatically valid but sounds stiff and archaic to French ears. In practice, people reach for est-ce que instead.
Ne pars-je pas en Suisse ?(correct, but not how people actually talk)
Est-ce que je ne pars pas en Suisse ?(what people actually say)
Quick reference
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Présent
Passé composé
Inversion
Ne part-elle pas en Suisse ?
N'est-elle pas partie en Suisse ?
Est-ce que
Est-ce qu'elle ne part pas en Suisse ?
Est-ce qu'elle n'est pas partie en Suisse ?
Intonation
Elle ne part pas en Suisse ?
Elle n'est pas partie en Suisse ?
The same pattern carries over to any other compound tense, the plus-que-parfait, the futur antérieur, and so on. Whatever the auxiliary is, that's the piece ne … pas wraps or inverts, and the participle just tags along at the end.
