jamais

Jamais is a French adverb meaning "never." It is used to express that something did not happen at any time and is the standard negator in negative clauses. In addition to its use in ordinary sentences, jamais can appear in emphatic or exclamatory forms, such as the standalone interjection "Jamais!" meaning "Never!" It also features in fixed expressions such as à jamais (forever) and jamais de la vie (never in my life).

Etymology and history: The word derives from Old French forms such as jamai or ja mais, built from ja “already” (ultimately from Latin iam) and mais “more” (in older uses related to “anymore”). Through later French evolution, the combination came to express the negation "never." The sense shift from “already” or “more” toward a denial of any occurrence is established in historical forms and is preserved in modern usage.

Usage and syntax: Jamais is normally used with the negation ne in standard French: Je ne mange pas, or preferably Je ne mange jamais de légumes. In compound tenses, the negation sits before the auxiliary, as in Il n'a jamais vu ça. In informal speech, the ne may be dropped, yielding Je mange jamais de légumes in certain dialects, though this is less formal. Jamais can also appear before the verb in literary or formal inversion: N'a-t-il jamais vu...? In phrases like à jamais, it expands its meaning to indicate permanence or eternity.

Cross-linguistic note: Cognates exist in other Romance languages, reflecting Latin iam; equivalents include nunca in Spanish and mai in Italian, all expressing negation over all time.