aucune

Aucune is the feminine singular form of the French determiner and pronoun aucun. It expresses negation of quantity or existence and agrees with the feminine singular noun it modifies or with the implied noun in ellipsis. It is commonly translated as not any or none.

As a determiner, aucune precedes a feminine singular noun: aucune idée (no idea), aucune raison (no reason). As a pronoun, elle can stand alone to refer to a feminine noun mentioned or understood: parmi les propositions, aucune ne convient (none of the proposals fits). Aucune is also used in formal or emphatic negation with verbs, as in il n’a aucune chance (he has no chance).

Origin and usage: Aucune derives from the indefinite numeral un with a negative particle, historically developed in Old and Middle French. In contemporary French, it appears in negations with ne and in fixed phrases such as aucune idée or aucune réponse, signaling complete negation.

Related forms and notes: The corresponding masculine form is aucun, and plural forms exist mainly in older or formal usage as aucuns (masculine) or aucunes (feminine). A related adverb is aucunement, which means not at all, though it is rarely used in everyday speech. The distinction between aucune and other negation words (ne... pas, ne... jamais) depends on the intended emphasis and the gender and number of the noun involved.