Questions tagged [negation]
"Negation" is the process that turns an affirmative statement into its opposite denial.
539
questions
-1
votes
0answers
20 views
place of “Almost” [closed]
Could anyone explain to me how to place "almost", even if my sentences are not the most idiomatic (hardly or other...) I have so many trouble with present perfect.
I almost didn't see that
...
0
votes
2answers
27 views
What's the correct order of negated adjectives?
Do adjectives with "not" go before or after the noun they refer to?
For example:
A not funny guy
A guy not funny
Which of these is correct?
-1
votes
0answers
16 views
Not about to OR Not going to [duplicate]
What is the difference between
I am not about to do it
I am not going to do it
?
1
vote
2answers
30 views
About to/Not about to + Will be about to
As I understand
I am going to do it = I have an intention of doing it
Although we don't know whether it will happen in 5 seconds or in 3 months.
I am about to do it = Very very soon I will do it
This ...
2
votes
2answers
41 views
Of course I will to a negative sentence
If you say to someone
"I hope you won't stop checking in on her"
And this person answers
"Of course I will"
Does it mean "Of course I won't stop" ?
0
votes
0answers
41 views
Usage of the word “don't” + “Substitute”
"It's important to support business, but meal deal vouchers don't substitute for effective public health messaging and measures"
The above excerpt is from a political advert and was ...
0
votes
1answer
28 views
I will call somebody else, not neither him nor you
I have a sentence
I will call neither you nor him
I guess it means
I won't call neither you nor him
Out of it it's not clear whether I will call anyone at all but I want to say that I will call but ...
1
vote
2answers
44 views
What is the difference between “I got stuck” , “I was stuck”, “I'm stuck"?
What is the difference caused by using “I got stuck”, “I get stuck”, “I was stuck”, “I'm stuck"?
Could anyone please advise which is more natural and when should one use over the other with sentences?...
2
votes
2answers
138 views
What is the difference between “yep” and “yeah”?
What is the difference caused by using “yep” instead of ”yeah”?
Is it used because “yep” sounds better and not straight like “yeah”? In some situations, it feels like "yes" is better to use than no ...
0
votes
1answer
31 views
She hoped to have done [duplicate]
I saw a sentence
She hoped to have done
Or a sentence, created with the same structure. I don'tunderstand how it works. Then I saw a full version of it:
She hoped that she had done
So, it's like a ...
0
votes
1answer
21 views
She hoped to have done
I saw a sentence
She hoped to have done
Or a sentence, created with the same structure. I don'tunderstand how it works. Then I saw a full version of it:
She hoped that she had done
So, it's like a ...
15
votes
6answers
6k views
Why is there no article after “no” in “I have no car”
Examples. "I have no car", "I have no TV". BUT "I have not a car"
There was a thread on it, but the answers were pretty superficial to say the least and only based on someone's opinion. I read a ...
10
votes
5answers
3k views
What does “not one of them“ mean?
Does "not one of them" mean “more than one of them” or “none of them”?
Example:
Not one of them thought it necessary to avoid dogmatic statements about unicorns because he had never seen one of ...
0
votes
0answers
14 views
isn't efficient as you claimed
a. This device isn't efficient as you claimed.
b. This device isn't efficient**,** as you claimed.
Which of the above sentences could be used instead of each of the following:
Unlike what you ...
0
votes
1answer
20 views
Using non before compound word
I have the word peer-reviewed. I need to use non before it. Is it:
non-peer-reviewed
Or
non-peer reviewed
0
votes
1answer
25 views
Is there a difference in meanig between “as someone told you to” and “as someone told you”
a. You didn't come home late last night, as your Dad told you to.
b. You didn't come home late last night, as your Dad told you.
Do these mean:
Your Dad told you to come home late last ...
0
votes
1answer
155 views
“It may not seem” vs “It may seem not”
Are these 2 examples both grammatically valid? Are there any differences in the tone or the meaning?
A. It may not seem strange.
B. It may seem not strange.
2
votes
3answers
154 views
Does “not” modify main verb or adverb?
I was trying to understand why can't we say I have not money, and the answer was that have doesn't mean possession here, it is an auxiliary verb(AV) to make a perfect tense, which requires main verb --...
1
vote
0answers
81 views
Is this grammatically correct? : Something is not A nor A', neither B nor B'
'To love is not demanding nor taking advantage needless to say, neither is it giving up nor sacrifice.'
Is this sentence correct?
Is there any room for improvement?
How about the following ...
0
votes
0answers
19 views
What is the correct sequence of negatives for this use case?
Which of the following sentences is most grammatical for US English, or are all of them ungrammatical and should be written differently?
I will not allow anyone to do something to him or her.
...
0
votes
1answer
55 views
Which one is correct? Double negatives
Which one is correct?
1. I cannot do not eat for 5 days straight
2. I cannot not eat for 5 days straight
3. I cannot not to eat for 5 days straight
0
votes
1answer
25 views
didn't happen since
Tom says: My God, Jeff, you have lost a lot of weight!
Jeff replies: Twenty pounds! New Year's resolution.
Tom says:
a. You can't have lost twenty pounds since New Year's. You must have started ...
2
votes
3answers
53 views
What is this actually saying? Written sentence: “This is not a story about wine, well not totally.”
What is this actually saying? Written sentence: “This is not a story about wine, well not totally.” The writer means "There's more to this story than just wine." It's a voiceover attempting to be ...
0
votes
2answers
42 views
“no one apart from her sister” or “everyone apart from her sister”
The outing was canceled and no one apart from her sister, who wasn't up-to-date, came.
I'd rather say - 'everyone apart from(=except for) her sister ......'
I'd be grateful whether someone could ...
1
vote
1answer
114 views
Correct placement of “not” next to “to” disambiguating a sentence
I asked a question on another site and got corrected by someone. Them being NSE and me not, I appreciated the improvement except in one regard - placement of the negation. So I asked about it and as ...
1
vote
1answer
52 views
Negation of a Negative Statement
My understanding that negating a negation is proof.
like:
They are not uncooperative = They are cooperative.
I understand that the use of the negative statement could slightly change the meaning ...
0
votes
1answer
73 views
How would I negate “I used to be able to do it”?
i)
"I used to be able to do it."
What's the negative form of the abovementioned sentence? Is it natural to say - "I used to be able to not do it."?
ii)
is there any grammatical (like ...
1
vote
1answer
55 views
What do we call these kind of structures?
I don't have Instagram installed on my phone.
Does it mean the same as
I haven't installed Instagram on my phone.
0
votes
0answers
40 views
Ask about the reason of not giving money to people by banks
Suppose you live in a country, and an economical issue was happened, and the country's banks refuse giving money back to people ... what is the best way to ask about the reason?
Why are not banks ...
3
votes
2answers
68 views
How to use 'not'? Can you use 'not' after a verb?
Can you use not after a verb? Is there a correct way to use not? Are these examples correct/ interchangeable? If not what is the difference?
Speak not against my father / do not speak against my ...
1
vote
1answer
211 views
looks not easy, seems not easy
Are these sentences correct?
It looks not easy.
It seems not easy.
Or do I need to say like these?
It doesn't look easy.
It doesn't seem easy.
0
votes
1answer
18 views
“Why can I not carry this?” or “Why cannot I carry this?” - which is the correct phrasing?
I'm playing a game and it doesn't let me pick up an item. At some point I asked "Why cannot I carry this?"
My friends are telling me my question is grammatically incorrect. I feel like it might be ...
0
votes
1answer
22 views
Meaning of “no <things> must/should […]”
I want to write a code comment that means "every line in this file must be shorter than N". I wrote this:
No line in this file shall be longer than N
...then considered using "must", which is more ...
2
votes
2answers
68 views
“It's you, not Tom, who {is/are} to blame for what happened”
It's you, not Tom, who is/are to blame for what happened.
The model answer here is "is". When I search for the reason, I come across a rule as follows.
If your sentence compounds a ...
0
votes
2answers
795 views
How to use the adjective “absent”?
Can the adjective "absent" which has a negative meaning to it be used with the phrase "there is" or "there are" as, in their affirmative form, these are meant to assert the presence and not the ...
0
votes
2answers
820 views
How to use“ everyone” or “everybody” in a negative sentence with verb “be”?
When checking if all the students are present in a class, may the teacher ask "Is everybody/everyone here today?" or "Is everyone/everybody present today?"
And if not so, must the students reply "No, ...
1
vote
2answers
35 views
so much not alike [closed]
a. Those twins are so not alike.
b. Those twins are so much not alike.
c. He was so not in a hurry.
d. He was so much not in a hurry.
(Meaning of (c) and (d): He was not in a hurry at all.)
Are ...
0
votes
1answer
54 views
Negative with subjunctive in that clause
I was wondering, why exactly is it correct to use "not" without a helping word instead of "do not" with the subjunctive in the negative after the "that" clause, after words like "suggest" or "...
0
votes
1answer
42 views
Difference between not and don't in the next sentence [closed]
“In the period we not enter, Romanticism, the Account became the
preeminent formula for literary production.”
In the sentence above, does the ‘not’ make sense? Should I use ‘don’t’ instead?
0
votes
0answers
28 views
Meaning of “I will not kill you due to your talent”
What is the meaning of:
I will not kill you due to your talent.
Does that mean:
[I will not kill you] [due to your talent].
Because you are talented, I will not kill you.
[I will not] [kill you ...
1
vote
1answer
66 views
Is contraction obligatory in negative interrogative sentences?
I know that a verb and "not" are usually contracted when together in a negative interrogative sentence. Example:
Aren't they lovely?
Is it grammatically wrong to avoid the contraction? Example:
...
1
vote
1answer
38 views
Questions with “do” vs. “do not” — is “not” required?
I read an example of the term "ipso facto" in Merriam Webster Dictionaries which was:
If we refuse to tolerate bigotry, do we become, ipso facto, as intolerant as those whom we condemn.
I think ...
0
votes
2answers
3k views
not all vs all not
First, I know that "not all" is partial negation. For example, "not all the numbers are 0" means there may be a number that is nonzero.
And to me, a non-native speaker of English, it seems that "all ...
0
votes
1answer
63 views
Did not I do it VS Was it not me who did it
I discovered something interesting, guys, look:
I did it
It's a usual sentence. We can negate "it" by:
1) I did not it
We can negate "did" by:
2) I did not do it
Also we can negate "I" by:
3) ...
2
votes
2answers
791 views
Not educated VS Uneducated
Is there any difference in
1) He is not educated
2) He is uneducated ?
And if there is no, is it possible to make negation with other words by putting "not" in front of them?
If you have different ...
2
votes
2answers
162 views
Why did not I do this sooner?
I read some philosophy stuff about life and found some text with such a sentence at the end:
Why did not I do this sooner?
Shouldn't it be
Why didn't I do this sooner?
Why did I not do this sooner?...
0
votes
1answer
31 views
Usage of “unless” [closed]
A: He just said he could help B. But right now, he doesn't seem willing
to help B.
B: You just said you wanted to help me. Oh, unless you weren't
being serious, which I would get. I have been ...
2
votes
2answers
217 views
No. VS Not? He had a pen not a pencil
I know that we use not to negate a verb and we use no to negate a noun!
he had no pencil
Why do we use not in this sentence?
He had a pen not a pencil
Why don’t we use “no” ...
1
vote
1answer
28 views
Negation after the to-infinitive
Do the following sentences mean the same?
He seems to have not eaten for ages.
He does not seem to have eaten for ages.
1
vote
1answer
48 views
Is this sentence considered a double negative “Neither scenario does not involve fractions.”? [closed]
Is this sentence considered a double negative "Neither scenario does not involve fractions." ?
