FORMING NEGATIVES
FORMING NEGATIVES
Negatives are formed in the following ways.
Look at the following sentences:
Affirmative Negative
She is intelligent She is not intelligent
I am in need of money I am not in need of money.
You are weak in English You are not weak in English
He was late He was not late
They were hungry They were not hungry
The sentences on the left are affirmative sentences while those on the right are negative sentences. We have made the sentences negative by adding not after the verbs. The verbs in these sentences are forms of the verb Be and they are used here as full verbs.
In other words, when we use the forms of Be as full verbs, we can form negatives by simply adding not after them.
Have as main verb also takes not after it in negative constructions.
We normally use the contracted form n't here.
Affirmative Negative
She has a good dress She hasn't a good dress.
I have a sister I haven't a sister
We had a pet dog We hadn't a pet dog
Has, have, had, are different forms of the verb have.
These sentences can also be written by using do, does, did as helping verbs.
She hasn't a good dress> She doesn't (does not) have a good dress
I don't (do not) have a sister.
I haven't a sister> I don't (do not) have a sister.
We had a pet dog> We didn't (did not) have a pet dog.
If we use do/does/did we may use either the contracted form or the full form.
(c) All other main verbs require do or does (in the present tense) and did (in the past tense) to form negatives.
AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE
He works here> He does not work here.
I know him> I do not know him.
She came yesterday> She did not come yesterday.
You saw him> You did not see him.
George studies hard> George does not study hard.
He does his home- work carefully> He does not do his home- work carefully.
They did it well> They did not do it well.
They do their sums quickly> They do not do their sums quickly.
Remember, does is used for third person singular subjects in the present tense.
Do is used for all other subjects in the present tense.
Did is used in the past tense for all subjects.
Also remember that the tense is indicated in the helping verb and we use only the first form of the main verb.
An easy way to understand the formation of negatives is to do it in the following stages.
I know him. (I do know him.) I do not know him.
He sings well. (He does sing well.) He does not sing well. She danced (She did dance beautifully.) She did not dance beautifully
Look at the following sentences.
(i) Affirmative Negative
George is reading a book> George is not reading a book.
They are leaving today> They are not leaving today
I am feeling tired> I am not feeling tired.
She was painting> She was not painting.
They were talking about you> They were not talking about you.
(ii) I have read this book> I have not read this book.
He has finished his work> He has not finished his work.
He had left> He had not left
(iii) I can swim> I cannot swim.
You may leave now> You may not leave
We must do it> We must not do it.
She will pass> She will not pass.
We ought to tell them> We ought not to tell them.
All the sentences above use auxiliaries. We form negatives by putting not between the auxiliary and the main verb.
Contracted form with Pronouns and in Negative Constructions
Look at the following sentences:
I am writing a letter.
She is doing her homework.
They are coming tomorrow.
In speech, the auxiliary verb am, is, are, are contracted and combined with pronouns
Eg
I'm writing a letter.
She's doing her homework.
They're coming tomorrow.
There' are eight auxiliary verbs which can be contracted and combined with subject-pronouns. These are is, am, are, have, has, had, will, would Similarly, all auxiliaries have contracted form in negative constructions in speech.
E.g
Alice is not pretty > Alice is n't pretty.
George does not write clearly > George does n't write clearly.
He has not finished his work> He hasn't finished his work
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Note:
1. The form aren't as a contracted negative for am not is more usual in negative interrogatives.
2. There is no general accepted contracted form for am not in statements.
Will and would
Will
I will> I'll > I will not> I won't , I'll not.
The forms for other pronouns are like the forms of I.
Would
I would > I'd> I would not > I wouldn't, I'll not.
The forms for other pronouns are like the forms of I.
Remember: the contracted form of is and has is the same e.g She is and she has.