Negation
English negates with not — but not needs an auxiliary verb to lean on. If the sentence doesn't already have one, you bring in do. This "do-support" is the single most un-European thing about English grammar.
With an auxiliary already there: add not
| affirmative | negative | contracted |
|---|---|---|
| She is here. | She is not here. | She isn't here. / She**'s not** here. |
| They have left. | They have not left. | They haven't left. |
| I can swim. | I cannot swim. | I can't swim. |
| He will come. | He will not come. | He won't come. |
be, have (as auxiliary), and all modals (can, will, must, should, may, might, could, would) take not directly.
No auxiliary? Bring in do
| affirmative | negative |
|---|---|
| I speak French. | I do not speak French. → I don't speak French. |
| She likes tea. | She does not like tea. → She doesn't like tea. |
| We went home. | We did not go home. → We didn't go home. |
Notice: the tense and the -s move onto do (does, did) and the main verb returns to its base form (like, not likes; go, not went).
✗ She not likes tea. · ✗ I speak not French. · ✗ He didn't went.
Contractions are the normal spoken form
isn't, aren't, wasn't, weren't, don't, doesn't, didn't, haven't, hasn't, hadn't, can't, won't, shouldn't, wouldn't, couldn't, mustn't. Full forms sound emphatic or formal: I do not agree.
Other negative words — no double negatives
| word | example |
|---|---|
| never | I never smoke. (no do, no not) |
| nothing / nobody / nowhere / none | I saw nothing. Nobody came. |
| no + noun | I have no time. (= I don't have any time) |
| neither … nor | Neither he nor I knew. |
Standard English uses one negative per clause. Where Spanish/Italian/French stack them, English switches the second to an any- word:
| Spanish / French | English |
|---|---|
| No veo nada. / Je ne vois rien. | I don't see anything. (or: I see nothing.) |
| No viene nadie. | Nobody is coming. / There isn't anybody coming. |
| No fumo nunca. | I never smoke. / I don't ever smoke. |
I don't see nothing is heard in many dialects but marks the speaker; learners should avoid it.
Answering
- Are you coming? — Yes. / No. (English has no si / doch: to contradict "Aren't you coming?" you say Yes, I am.)
- "Me neither": Me neither. / Neither do I. · "Me too": Me too. / So do I.
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