Ne explétif / no expletivo: análisis contrastivo en gramáticas francesas y españolas

Abstract

The so-called expletive negation is a linguistic manifestation common to several languages. In French, as it is well-known, it is represented through the “ne” morpheme, and most of the French grammars mention this particular usage of a negative particle in more or less detail. In Spanish, nonetheless, this topic has hardly been addressed by linguists, and it has only recently emerged in grammars of contemporary Spanish.

After reviewing similarities and differences between the cases of expletive negation in French and Spanish, we will examine the evolution of the grammar studies that have explored the existence of these two petty negative particles (ne, no), apparently devoid of their original meaning and often considered redundant or superfluous, even useless. Simultaneously, we will prove that expletive uses are very much alive in certain contexts in both languages.