Negation - Forming negative statements

Negation

Forming negative statements

43 When you want to say that something is not true, is not happening, or is not the case, you normally use a negative statement. Negative statements contain words like 'not', 'never', or 'nowhere'. They are called negative words.

Here is the list of negative words in English:

Negative words indicate the opposite of something or an absence of something.

44 There are some other words such as 'unhappy' or 'meaningless' which give a negative meaning to a statement because they contain a negative affix such as 'un-' or '-less'. These words are explained in paragraphs 76 to 82.

Another group of words such as 'scarcely' and 'seldom' can be used to make a statement almost negative. These words are called broad negatives. They are explained in paragraphs 83 to 90.

45 If a statement about the existence of something has a negative word in it, you use 'any' (not 'no') as a determiner in front of the following noun group. You can also use a word beginning with 'any-' such as 'anyone' or 'anywhere'.

We hadn't any money.

He writes poetry and never shows it to anyone.

It is impossible to park the car anywhere.

For another use of 'any' see paragraph 2.168.

WARNING 46 It is almost always unacceptable to use two negative words in the same clause. For example, you do not say, 'I don't never go there', or 'I don't know nothing'.

47 The use of negatives in report structures is explained in paragraph 7.13. The use of negatives with modals is explained in paragraph 105.

'not' 48 The most commonly used negative word is 'not'. Its use with different verbs corresponds to the way these verbs are used in 'yes/no'-questions (see paragraphs 12 to 14).

position in verb groups 49 When 'not' is used with a verb group which contains an auxiliary verb, it comes after the first verb in the group.

They could not exist in their present form.

They might not even notice.

Unemployment has not been a major cause of the recent events.

He had not attended many meeting.

I was not smiling.

The council was not entitled to any rebate.

adding 'do' 50 If there is no auxiliary verb, you put 'do', 'does', or 'did' after the subject, followed by 'not' or '-n't', followed by the base form of the main verb.

They do not need to talk.

He does not speak English very well.

I didn't know that.

'Be' and 'have' are exceptions to this; this is explained in the following paragraphs 51 and 52. The shortening of 'not' to '-n't' is explained in paragraphs 55 and 56.

51 If the verb is 'be', you do not use 'do'. You simply put 'not' or '-n't' after the verb.

It is not difficult to see why they were unsuccessful.

There is not much point in heading south.

That isn't always the wisest course.

52 If the verb is 'have', you usually put 'do', 'does', or 'did' after the subject, followed by 'not' or '-n't', followed by the base form 'have'.

Sydney's new opera house does not have a parking lot.

He didn't have a very grand salary.

You can simply put 'not' or '-n't' after the verb, but this use is less common.

He hadn't enough money.

I haven't any papers to say that I have been trained.

If you use 'have got', you put 'not' or '-n't' after 'have', followed by 'got'.

I haven't got the latest figures.

He hasn't got a daughter.

'Have got' is explained in paragraph 3.17.

53 When 'not' is used with an '-ing' form or a 'to'-infinitive clause, it is placed in front of the '-ing' form or 'to'-infinitive.

We stood there, not knowing what was expected of us.

He lost out by not taking a degree at another university.

Try not to worry.

It took a vast amount of patience not to strangle him.

54 When a clause contains a finite verb group and a non-finite verb group, you put 'not' either with the finite or non-finite group, depending on the meaning you want to express.

For example, you can say either 'Mary tried not to smile' or 'Mary did not try to smile', but they express different meanings. The first means that Mary tried to avoid smiling. The second means that Wary did not even try to smile.

However, with some verbs which are used with 'to'-infinitive clauses, the meaning is the same whether 'not' is placed with the main verb or with the 'to'-infinitive.

She did not appear to have done anything.

Henry appears not to appreciate my explanation.

It didn't seem to bother them at all.

They seemed not to notice me.

Here is a list of verbs which are used with 'to'-infinitives. With all of these, the meaning of the clause is the same, whether 'not' is put in front of the verb or in front of the verb or in front of the 'to'-infinitive:

The use of two verbs in a clause to talk about two actions or states is called phase. Phase is dealt with in paragraphs 3.183 to 3.213.

Note that with some reporting verbs the meaning is the same whether you put 'not' in front of the reporting verb or in front of the main verb. This is explained in paragraph 7.13.

contractions of 'not' 55 In spoken English and in informal written English, 'not' is often shortened to '-n't' after 'be' or 'have' or after an auxiliary. '-n't' is attached to the end of the verb.

Marigold isn't really my aunt at all.

He doesn't believe in anything.

I haven't heard from her recently.

Note that 'cannot' is shortened to 'can't', 'shall not' is shortened to 'shan't', and 'will not' is shortened to 'won't'.

Here is a complete list of the shortened forms you can use:

USAGE NOTE 56 Note that if the verb is already shortened and added to its subject, you cannot shorten 'not' to '-n't'. This means, for example, that you can shorten 'she is not' to 'she isn't' or 'she's not', but not to 'she'sn't'.

It isn't easy.

It's not easy.

I haven't had time.

I've not had time.

Note that you cannot add '-n't' to 'am'. You can only use 'I'm not' as the shortened form.

I'm not excited.

The form 'aren't I' is used in questions. For more information, see paragraph 10.125.

In questions, 'not' is usually shortened to '-n't' and added to the first verb in the verb group.

Didn't she win at the Olympics?

Hasn't he put on weight?

Aren't you bored?

However, in formal English, it is also possible to put 'not' after the subject.

Did he not have brothers?

Was it not rather absurd?

other uses of 'not' 57 You can also use 'not' with almost any word or word group in a clause. For example, you can use it with noun groups, adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, and quantifiers. You usually do this in order to be more forceful, careful, polite, hesitant, and so on. The following paragraphs 58 and 59 describe some of these uses.

58 'Very' is often used after 'not' to soften the negative meaning of a clause. You can put 'very' in front of an adjective complement, in front of a complement that contains an adjective, or in front of an adverb. This sounds more polite or hesitant than using 'not' without 'very'.

His attitude is not very logical.

It's not very strong tea, it won't stain.

He wasn't a very good actor.

She shook her head, but not very convincingly.

You can use 'not' with 'absolutely', 'altogether', 'entirely', or 'necessarily' in a similar way. You do this in order to sound more polite or less critical.

She wasn't absolutely convinced of her usefulness.

I was not altogether sure.

They are not entirely reliable.

Science is not necessarily hostile to human values.

You can use 'not' in front of a complement which has a negative meaning to indicate that the thing you are describing has in fact some good qualities, although you do not want to make them sound better than they really are. This structure is often used with words which have a negative affix such as 'un-' or '-less'.

Well, it certainty is not a hindrance.

It's not a bad start.

It's a small point, but not an unimportant one.

America is very well developed, but not limitless.

Words with negative affixes are discussed in paragraphs 76 to 82.

59 'Not' can be used to contrast one part of a clause with another. Using 'not' in this way emphasizes the positive part of a statement.

He held her arm in his hand, not hard, but firmly.

We move steadily, not fast, not slow.

'Were they still interested?''Not just interested. Overjoyed.'

I will move eventually, but not from Suffolk.

It's not a huge hotel, but it's very nice.

60 'Never' is used to say that something was not or will not ever be the case.

When it is used with a verb group which contains an auxiliary verb, 'never' is put after the first verb in the verb group and in front of the main verb.

I would never trust my judgement again.

a type of glass which is rare and is never used.

The number of people who died will never be known.

Thirty years ago, the man was never expected to wash the dishes or help with the children.

I had never been to this big town before.

I've never done so much work in an my life.

However, you can put 'never' in front of the first word in the verb group in order to emphasize the negative aspect of a statement.

I never would have guessed if he hadn't told me.

There was no such personthere never had been.

61 If the main verb is the simple present or simple past of 'be', 'never' usually comes after the verb.

She was never too proud to learn.

I'm never very keen on keeping a car for more than a year.

There were never any people in the house.

However, you can put 'never' in front of a simple form of 'be' for emphasis.

There never was enough hot wafer at home.

It never was very clear.

There never is any great change.

with simple forms of other verbs 62 If the main verb is the simple present or simple past of any verb, except 'be', 'never' comes in front of the verb.

I never want to see you in my classes again.

She never goes abroad.

He never went to university.

He never did any homework.

emphasis 63 You can make a negative statement more emphatic by using 'newer' followed by 'do', 'does', or 'did' in front of the base form of me verb. For example, instead of saying 'l never met him', you can say 'l never did meet him'.

I never do see her now.

We never did find the gauze pad.

I never did want a council house.

Some people never do adjust adequately.

'never' in imperatives 64 'Never' can be used at the beginning of imperative structures.

Never change a wheel near a drain.

Never dry clothes in front of an open fire.

Imperative structures are explained in paragraph 4 and in paragraphs 31 to 35.

'no' 65 'No' is a general determiner which is used in front of singular and plural noun groups to say that something does not exist or is not available.

There was no money for an operation.

We had no union, nobody to look after us.

He has no ambition.

I could see no tracks.

General determiners are explained in paragraphs 1.208 to 1.235.

66 In spoken English, '-n't' is often used with 'any' instead of 'no'. For example, instead of saying 'I had no money', you can say ' hadn't any money'.

They hadn't meant any harm to her.

I can't see any hope in it.

'none' 67 The pronoun 'none' is used to say that there is not a single thing of person, or not even a small amount of a particular thing.

I waited for comments but none came.

The entire area is covered with shallow lakes, none more than a few yards in depth.

We have been seeing difficulties where none exist.

For another use of   'none' see paragraph 1.15

'none of' 68 'None of' is a quantifier.

None of the townspeople had ever seen such weather.

None of this has happened without our consent.

For an explanation of 'none of' see paragraphs 2.195 to 2.197 and paragraph 2.202.

words beginning with 'no' 69 There are four words beginning with 'no-' which are used in negative statements. 'Nothing', 'no one', and 'nobody' are indefinite pronouns. 'Nowhere' is an indefinite place adverb.

There's nothing you can do.

Nobody in her house knows any English.

There's almost nowhere left to go.

Indefinite pronouns are explained in paragraphs 1.127 to 1.140, indefinite place adverbs are explained in paragraphs 6.90 and 6.100.

70 'Nothing', 'no one', 'nobody' and 'nowhere' can be followed by 'but' to mean 'only'. For example, 'There was nothing but cheese' means that there was only cheese.

I look back on this period with nothing but pleasure.

He heard no one but his uncles.

Indefinite pronouns and adverts which begin with 'any' can be used in similar structures. However, in these structures 'but' means 'except', rather than 'only'.

I could never speak about anything but business to Ivan.

It's been years since he has taken her to visit anyone but the children.

71 'Neither' and 'nor' are used together to say that two alternatives are not possible, likely, or true. 'Neither' goes in front of the first alternative and 'nor' goes in front of the second one.

Neither Margaret nor John was there.

They had neither food nor money until the end of the week.

72 'Neither' can be used on its own as a reply, to refer to two alternatives which have already been mentioned.

'Does that mean Yes or No?''Neither'.

73 If a clause contains a negative word, particularly 'not', you can use 'neither' or 'nor' to negate a second clause. In the second clause, you put 'neither' or 'nor' first, followed by the verb, followed by the subject.

This isn't a dazzling achievement but neither is it a negligible one.

These people are not insane, nor are they fools.

If there is an auxiliary, it is placed in front of the subject in the second clause.

The organization had broken no rules, but neither had it acted responsibly.

I do not wish to be rude to you but neither do I wish to be rude to Simon.

74 'Neither' can be used on its own in front of a singular noun referring to each of two things when you are making a negative statement about both of them. For example, 'Neither partner benefited from the agreement' means that there two partners and the negative statement applies to both of them.

Neither report mentioned the Americans.

In reality neither party was enthusiastic.

Neither sex has a monopoly on thought or emotion.

Neither parent is the good one or the bad one.

Note that in this structure 'neither' is used with a singular verb.

75 When 'neither' is followed by 'of', it is used as a quantifier to negative a set of two things. 'Neither of' is followed by a plural noun group.

Neither of us was having any luck.

Neither of the boys screamed.

Neither of them was making any sound.

'Neither of' is normally used with a singular verb.

Neither of these extremes is desirable.

Neither of these opinions proves anything.

However, it is also possible to use a plural verb.

Neither of the children were there.

Quantifiers are explained in paragraphs 2.193 to 2.210.

Forming negative statements: negative affixes

76 A prefix such as 'un-' or 'dis-' can be added to the beginning of some words to give them the opposite meaning. Words with prefixes can be looked up in any good dictionary. The suffix '-less. is added to the end of words to give them a negative meaning.

She asked us to her house which was very small and untidy.

At last Janet sat down, as she was breathless.

Here is a list of common negative prefixes:

'un-' 77 The most common of these prefixes is 'un-'. It can be added to many adjectives, adverbs, and verbs.

They were unhappy with the way things were going.

They described what they saw, sometimes truthfully and at other times untruthfully.

She unpacked straightaway.

'Un-' can also be added to some nouns.

She wanted to save her sister from unhappiness.

'in-', 'il-', 'ir-' 78 Another common prefix is 'in-'. It is added to some adjectives, adverbs, and nouns instead of 'un-'.

The footpath was invisible.

Some radiation continues almost indefinitely.

There's enormous inefficiency in the system.

'Il-' is added to some adjectives, adverbs, and nouns beginning with 'l'. 'Im-' is added to others which begin with 'b', 'm', or 'p', and 'ir-' is added to some which begin with 'r'.

He was reached an illogical conclusion.

The windows will be almost impossible to open.

I was a crazy, irresponsible adventurer.

'dis-' 79 'Dis-' is added to some verbs, adjectives, nouns, and adverbs.

I disliked change of any kind.

I was becoming disconnected.

He gave a look of disapproval.

She just gets disagreeably rebellious.

80 'Non-' is added to some adjectives and nouns.

a peaceful, non-violent protest.

Traffic signals were inadequate or non-existent.

The match was a non-event.

The oil companies stubbornly pursued a course of non-cooperation.

81 The suffix '-less' can be added to many nouns in order to form negative adjectives.

They were completely helpless.

Many people were in tears and almost speechless.

That was very thoughtless of you.

a cold, heartless smile.

Here is a list of common words which have the suffix '-less':

82 You can add '-less' to many other nouns when it is clear from the context that you are talking about a lack of something. This is an example of a productive feature.

Productive features are explained in the Introduction.

Forming negative statements: broad negatives

83 Another way in which you can make a statement negative is by using a broad negative. Broad negatives are adverbs like 'rarely' and 'seldom' which are used to make a statement almost totally negative.

The estimated sales will hardly cover the cost of making the film.

We were scarcely able to move.

Kuwait lies barely 30 mites from the Iranian coast.

Here is a list of the most common broad negatives:

84 The position of a broad negative within a clause is similar to that of 'never' (see paragraphs 60 to 62).

85 When you use a broad negative with a verb group which contains an auxiliary verb, you put it after the first word in the verb group and in front of the main verb.

I could scarcely believe my eyes.

Mr Al-Fayed is rarely photographed with his family.

His eyes had hardly closed.

86 If the verb is the simple present of simple past of 'be', the broad negative usually comes after the verb.

Examiners were seldom unkind.

The new pressure group is barely six months old.

The office was hardly ever empty.

The lagoons are rarely deep.

The results were scarcely encouraging.

with other verbs 87 If the verb is the simple present of simple past of any verb except 'be', the broad negative usually comes in front of the verb.

He seldom bathed.

Marsha rarefy felt hungry.

John hardly ever spoke to the Press.

It is also possible to put a broad negative after the verb, but this is less common.

They climb rarely and do not have much reason to.

They met so seldom.

as first word in the clause 88 In formal or literary English, a broad negative is sometimes placed at the beginning of a clause for emphasis. If you are using a verb with an auxiliary, the first word in the verb group is placed after the broad negative, followed by the subject and then the remainder of the verb group.

Seldom has society offered so wide a range of leisure time activities.

Hardly had we recovered from this appalling shock when he were approached by a yacht.

If there is no auxiliary, you put the simple present or simple past of 'do' after the broad negative, followed by the subject, followed by the base form of the main verb.

Seldom did a week pass without a request for assessment.

Rarely do local matches live up to expectations.

Note that 'barely' and 'scarcely' are not often used in this way.

USAGE NOTE 89 If you make a tag question out of a statement that contains a broad negative, the tag on the end of the statement is normally positive, as it is with other negatives. Tag questions are explained in paragraphs 10.122 to 10.130.

She's hardly the right person for the job, is she?

You seldom see that sort of thing these days, do you?

You can modify 'rarely' and 'seldom' by putting 'so', 'very', 'too', or 'pretty' in front of them. You can also modify 'rarely' by using 'only'.

It happens so rarely.

Women were very seldom convicted.

He too seldom makes the first greeting.

Most people go to church only rarely.

If you want to say there is very little of something, you can use a broad negative with 'any' or with a word which begins with 'any-'.

The bonds show barely any interest.

Hardly anybody came.

In fact, it is seldom any of these.

With scarcely any warning, the soldiers charged.

Sometimes two or three relatives are admitted, but rarely any friends.

'almost' 90 Instead of using a broad negative, you can use 'almost' followed by a negative word such as 'no' or 'never'. For example, 'There was almost no food left' means the same as 'There was hardly any food left'.

They've almost no money for anything.

The cars thinned out to almost none.

They were very private people, with almost no friends.

Men almost never began conversations.

Emphasizing the negative aspect of a statement

91 You can add 'at all' to a negative statement in order to make it more emphatic. You use 'at all' with any negative word, with 'without', or with a broad negative.

She had no writing ability at all.

'There's no need' said Jimmie.'None at all'.

They run education without any control at all from central government.

He hardly read anything at all.

Broad negatives are explained in paragraphs 83 to 90.

92 You can put 'whatsoever' after 'none' and 'nothing' in order to emphasize the negative aspect of a statement.

'You don't think he has any chance of winning?''None whatsoever.'

There was no compromise of principle involved, none whatsoever.

You'll find yourself thinking about nothing whatsoever.

If 'no' is used as a determiner in a noun group, you can put 'whatsoever' after the noun group.

There is no need whatsoever to teach children how to behave.

There was no debate whatsoever, not even in Parliament.

You can also use 'whatsoever' in negative statements which contain 'any' or a word which begins with 'any-'.

You are not entitled to any aid whatsoever.

He was devoid of any talent whatsoever.

I knew I wasn't learning anything whatsoever.

93 You can put 'ever' after negative words in order to emphasize the negative aspect of a statement.

I can't say I ever had much interest in fishing.

Nobody ever leaves the airport.

I never ever believed we would have such success.

94 There are several expressions which can be used to emphasize a negative statement which contains 'not'. These include 'in the least', 'the least bit', 'in the slightest', and 'a bit'.

I don't mind in the least, I really don't.

Neither of the managers was the least bit repentant afterwards.

I don't really envy you in the slightest.

They're not a bit interested.

If 'in the least' and 'in the slightest' are used with verbs, they are placed either immediately after the verb or after the object, if there is one.

I wouldn't have objected in the least.

She did not worry Billy in the least.

The weather hadn't improved in the slightest.

If 'in the least' is used with an adjective, it is put in front of it. 'In the slightest' usually comes after an adjective.

I wasn't in the least surprised.

She wasn't worried in the slightest.

'The least bit' and 'a bit' are only used with adjectives and are placed in front of the adjective.

I'm not the least bit worried.

They're not a bit interested.