Il m'a dit de ne bouger pas - French Mistake

Mistakes will always be made in French, and now you can learn from them.

Wrong: Il m'a dit de ne bouger pas

Right: Il m'a dit de ne pas bouger

Explanation: In French, the two-part negative construction ne... pas has to surround the verb being negated. The only exception is the infinitive, which needs both parts of the negation in front it. So you wouldn't say "il m'a dit de ne bouger pas," but rather il m'a dit de ne pas bouger (he told me not to move).

Same goes for the infinitive in other uses, such as impersonal commands and on signs: a recipe wouldn't say "n'ajouter pas de sel," but ne pas ajouter de sel (don't add salt), and a sign might command that you ne pas ouvrir la porte (don't open the door), not "n'ouvrir pas la porte."

Related lessons:
   Negative adverbs
   Using the infinitive