Negatives
Spoken Description
Learn negatives in English: form simple negatives with 'not', use 'no' with nouns, and understand word order and contractions. Practical tips and examples for clear, confident sentence negation.
Lerne, Negationen im Englischen zu bilden: einfache Verneinungen mit 'not' (z. B. do not, cannot), 'no' vor Substantiven und die richtige Wortstellung. Mit praktischen Erklärungen und Beispielen im Alltag üben.
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Negatives in English are simple and follow a clear order: add not after the auxiliary, and use negative words to cancel the idea; double negatives usually make an affirmative or sound ungrammatical. This guide covers common negative constructions and useful negative words.
Basic Negation
To make a sentence negative, add not after the auxiliary verb (such as do, be, have, will, can) or after the first auxiliary in a verb phrase. When there is no auxiliary, use do + not for emphasis. This keeps the negative clear and consistent.
Negative Words
Common negative words like no, nothing, nowhere, never, nobody, none each cancel the idea in different ways; they can replace or work alongside not depending on the sentence. Negative words are useful for making more precise or stronger denials.
Here are negative words to know for everyday use:
| English Word(s) | English Translation(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| no | no | |
| nobody / no one | nobody / no one | |
| nothing | nothing | |
| never | never | |
| nowhere | nowhere | |
| neither | neither | |
| none | none |
Double Negatives
Double negatives occur when two negative words appear in the same clause; in standard English, double negatives usually cancel out to an affirmative or are considered incorrect. For a clear negative meaning, use one negative word per idea and avoid doubling not with no, never, nobody, etc.
Negative Questions
Negative questions highlight doubt, surprise, or polite requests; they add not after the auxiliary Did you not...?* or *Don't you...? and can invite confirmation or soften an expectation. Use negative questions strategically to check assumptions or prompt more information.
More Negative Words
Additional negative words like hardly, scarcely, rarely, few and negative prefixes un-*, *in-*, *im-*, *dis-*, *non- add nuance by limiting or denying in less absolute ways; they are useful for more precise or modest negation. These words often appear in more formal or detailed speech and writing.
Here are more negative words to expand your vocabulary:
| English Word(s) | English Word(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| hardly | scarcely | |
| rarely | seldom | |
| few | a little | |
| un- | in- | |
| im- | dis- | |
| non- | mis- |
Summary
Negatives work by placing not after the auxiliary and using negative words to cancel ideas; avoid double negatives for clarity and use negative questions to prompt confirmation. Learn key negative words for both strong and nuanced denial to make your speech precise and natural.
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