Negative sentences say that something is not true, does not happen, or is absent. In English, most negatives are formed by adding not to an auxiliary verb, or by using do support when there is no auxiliary. Negatives can also be made with negative words like never, nobody, and nothing, which usually make not unnecessary.

If a sentence already has an auxiliary verb, make it negative by placing not after the auxiliary. This includes be, have, and modal verbs such as can, will, should, and must. In everyday English, not is often contracted with the auxiliary.

If a sentence has no auxiliary and the main verb is not be, English uses do to carry not. Use do not or does not in the present, and did not in the past. The main verb stays in the base form after do, even in the third person singular and after did.

The verb be does not use do support in negatives. Make it negative by adding not directly after the correct form of be: am, is, are, was, or were. Contractions are very common, especially with is and are.

Negative questions often express surprise, confirmation, or a polite suggestion. With auxiliaries, place the auxiliary before the subject and keep not after it, often as a contraction. With main-verb questions in simple tenses, use do support: don’t, doesn’t, didn’t.

To tell someone not to do something, use do not plus the base verb. In speech and informal writing, don’t is much more common than do not. Negative imperatives do not change for person or number.

Some words are negative by meaning and can make a whole clause negative without using not. Common negative words include never, nobody, no one, nothing, nowhere, and none. In standard English, avoid adding not when a negative word already makes the sentence negative.

In standard English, using two negatives in the same clause usually creates a nonstandard form, not a stronger negative. For standard writing and most formal speech, use only one negative marker, either not or a negative word. Double negatives can appear in some dialects, but the meaning and acceptability depend on the variety of English.

Negatives can apply to different parts of a sentence depending on where the negative word is placed. Not usually negates the verb phrase, but placing not with words like any, ever, or much changes what is being denied. Use fronted negative adverbs like never or rarely for stronger focus, often triggering inversion in formal style.

In short answers and tag questions, English often uses an auxiliary plus not, not the full main verb. Choose the auxiliary that matches the tense and structure of the statement. In tags, the polarity usually switches: a positive statement takes a negative tag, and a negative statement takes a positive tag.

Use not after an auxiliary, and use do support when there is no auxiliary. Do not use do with be. Negative words like never and nothing can make a sentence negative without not, and standard English avoids double negatives. Pay attention to placement because it affects what the negative meaning targets.