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How to Say ‘But it still doesn't work.’ in French

Mais ça ne marche toujours pas.

meh sah nuh marsh too-ZHOOR pah

[meh sah nuh marsh too-ZHOOR pah]

💬 Usage Tip: Put toujours between ne marche and pas to get "still not". The same slot works elsewhere: Il ne répond toujours pas "He still isn't answering".

Phrase Breakdown

Mais ça ne marche

meh sah nuh marsh

But it doesn't work

'Mais' sounds like 'may'. Flow smoothly: 'may-sa-neu-marsh'.

Example

Mais ça ne marche jamais.

But it never works.

Words in this phrase

Mais

[meh]

But

Used to introduce a contrast.

Example

Il est petit mais fort.

He is small but strong.

ça

[sah]

that / it

Demonstrative pronoun used in everyday French to mean 'that' or 'it.'

Example

Ça me plaît quand une entreprise parle clairement.

I like it when a company speaks clearly.

ne

[nuh]

not

Used to make a negative.

Example

Je ne sais pas.

I do not know.

marche

[marsh]

works

From 'marcher' (to walk); in casual speech it means 'it works' or 'okay, deal'.

Example

Mon ordinateur ne marche plus.

My computer doesn't work anymore.

toujours pas.

too-ZHOOR pah

still not.

'Toujours pas' means 'still not'. Say 'too-zhoor-pa' with a soft French 'r'.

Example

Il n'est toujours pas là.

He's still not here.

Words in this phrase

toujours

[too-ZHOOR]

still

With a negative, means 'still not'; indicates something continues.

Example

Il n'est toujours pas arrivé.

He still hasn't arrived.

pas

[pah]

not

Used with 'ne' to form a negative.

Example

Je ne comprends pas.

I do not understand.

Related guides

The Most Common French Verbs: the 20 You'll Actually UseThe 20 most common French verbs, with the present-tense forms you need, real example sentences with native audio, and two shortcuts for past and future.Babbel vs Pimsleur: Reading Your Way In or Listening Your Way In?Babbel vs Pimsleur: short structured lessons on screen versus 30-minute audio lessons you answer out loud. Which gets you speaking, and which fits your day.

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