Questions tagged [negation]

"Negation" is the process that turns an affirmative statement into its opposite denial.

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what do authors of negative questions think?

I would like to know how native English speakers regard the opinion of authors of negative questions. For this reason I added the sentence "You're right." to each of the following examples (...
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Using words "not" and "until" in the same sentence

For example, let's say someone said to me, "You did not need to wait until I was in the pool to hold me". I believe this can translate to something like, "You did not need to wait to ...
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Does "You need to not eat much so that you will not be fat" have the same idea as "You shouldn't eat much so that you will not be fat"?

All examples are mine: (1) You should not eat much so that you will not be fat. I want to use "need" and "not" in the first clause instead of "should" and "not",...
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Use "to look forward" in kind of a negative sense

About a week ago, I had a written test in English, and it was about a story we had to answer questions about. The story was about a kid, who got bullied at his old school, but he moved away with his ...
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same-way tag questions and broadly negative elements

Some books say there are two types of tag questions: the ordinary type and the same-way type. The ordinary type is used to make an assumption or guess and seek confirmation from the hearer. The form ...
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negative sentence, does do a non-a VS does not do a

I read document at this link, https://git-scm.com/docs/git-merge#_fast_forward_merge The following sentence I don't know why they write the way: Often the current branch head is an ancestor of the ...
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Present perfect, since something has "NOT" been Happening/Heppened

I was wondering if this form of present perfect is correct: It's been 257 days since the last day a cat video on the internet has not made me cry! My main concern is with the negative second part. So, ...
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I don't think you should have done that

a. I don't think you should have done that. b. I think you shouldn't have done that. c. I don't think you should go there. d. I think you shouldn't go there. Is there any difference between the ...
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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 ...
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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.
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How to combine “She was/wasn’t at home” vs “She had/hadn’t been at home" with “when I called her”?

When I called her she wasn’t at home.She wasn’t at home when I called her. When I called her she had been at home.She had been at home when I called her. Does had been at home mean that she was at ...
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Rephrasing a sentence with negation and "except"

I don't look as if I have done anything except study in the last three years. I guess its meaning is two fold In fact, there is only one thing that have been done which is "study in the last ...
Stats Cruncher's user avatar
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“Can I not read it”?

If a person is asking about permission not to read something, he doesn't want to read it and asks not to read it. Can we use the phrase “Can I not read it”? Is it correct?
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Modals for speculations or logical deductions

Can you, please, help to choose the correct variant? The person on the right in the picture might not/can't/must not be who you say it is. The answer key says that it is must not, but I have never ...
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Double "not"s in questions starting with souldn't couldn't isn't etc

I sometimes make interrogative sentences that end up having double "not"s like, Isn't it not that great? (I think it's not that great) Shouldn't it not be there? (I think it shouldn't be ...
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Is "Why not more?" a correct question?

Is Why not more? correct, or should it be Why no more? What does it mean, then? Why don't you want anymore of something? Or the opposite: Why not having some more of something?
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Which is correct and why? "How can I not...?" or "How can't I...?"

How can I not know this? How can't I know this? Which one of the two sentences is correct? Or maybe they are both correct, but different in meaning.
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Negative of a clause or phrase at the outset of an enumeration + "or" / "and no"

Fowler reads When the negative of a clause or phrase has appeared at the outset of an enumeration, and a disjunctive conjunction is needed, or is generally better than nor. The initial negative ...
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did not do it for

a. Tom didn't vote for Dan and neither did I. But Tom didn't vote for Dan for the wrong reasons. (The reasons for which Tom didn't vote for Dan were not the right reasons.) b. I didn't speak out ...
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Why do positives and negatives not usually co-exist?

If I drink half of a bottle of water, there's half of a bottle of water and there's not half of a bottle of water. However, why is the negative sentence not usually used? Is it a wrong sentence?
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Scope and usage of 'not' in a sentence

I intend to say in the following statement that good people should pledge not to be silent and the righteous should win over the non-deserving. I'm not sure if the 'not' is being extended to the ...
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Can I change “Is there” to negative?

I have not seen the case of using the following expressions. Is/Are there no problem? Is/Aren't there (any) problems? Is it possible to make "Is there" a negative question? There are too ...
ististyle's user avatar
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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 ...
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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. ...
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"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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
Hey's user avatar
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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 ...
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Negation with "should be"

I wonder if the as clause in this sentence should be negated. She is not curious in the least, as she should be. or She is not curious in the least, as she should not be. Or are they both ...
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Use of "neither / nor" with "aren't"

We aren't able to neither preview it nor upload it. Can I use this above sentence? Is this sentence formation correct?
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*Actually not, it's the other way round.* or *Actually, no, it's the other way round.*

Are "actually not" and "actually, no" interchangeable in any context? FOR EXAMPLE: Tom: The Sun rotates around Earth Steve: Actually not, it's the other way round. or Actually, no, ...
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"I wouldn't want to..." vs. "I didn't want to..."?

I wouldn't want you to do that I didn't want you to do that We use "would not" to talk about repeated past actions that are not true in the present, and "did not" for actions completed in the past. ...
fusion's user avatar
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The correct negative form of "I would rather"

What sentence(s) is correct: "I would like to go out" "I'd rather you don't" "I'd rather you didn't" "I'd rather you not" I tend to think that 1/ and 2/ are ...
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"He didn't say he liked coffee" or "He didn't say he likes coffee"?

According to this link, the verb tense in the subordinate clause can be either present or past tense when the main clause's verb is in past tense IF the fact stated in the subordinate clause still ...
curiosity's user avatar
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Shouldn't we need to put "not" before "because" to make the structure take "..not...but rather" form?

I am confusing. I guess the author want to express a contrast by using ...not...but rather structure. To negate the forepart proposition, should not we have to insert a "not" to make the part ...
Quan Lee's user avatar
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not different from

If two things are quite similar, you can say that one thing is not very/much different from the other. If two things are alike, you can say that one thing is no different from the other. Don't say ...
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Is there any word for unlisten (negative of listen)?

I would like to know if is there any word for saying unlisten (not to listen). Edit I am working on some programming code where the author has named one function listen() and another one unlisten(). ...
mojtab23's user avatar
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2 answers
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Both phrases are correct? Doesn't or not

Are both phrases are correct? Doesn't or not. It's important doesn't to arrive late. It's important not to arrive late.
Ángel López Torres's user avatar
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Negation of sentences containing modals and auxiliary verbs

This question drew my attention to something that seems perfectly clear to native English speakers, but leaves English learners bewildered. When you negate a sentence containing a modal or an ...
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