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How to use "not,no"?

Posted by thadajirajaras · May 8, 2010 · 11 replies

Are these correct?

1) That car didn't hit(v.1) me.
2) Not that car hit(v.2) me.

3) There is no study but HWs. == There is no study but there are HWs.

4)I love not blue car.
5)I don't love blue car.
6)Not a blue car is interesting.
7)Not a blue car is interesting.
6)A blue car is not interesting.

11 Replies

thadajirajaras wrote:Are these correct?

1) That car didn't hit(v.1) me. Correct
2) Not that car hit(v.2) me. Incorrect

3) There is no study but HWs. == There is no study but there are HWs.
Incorrect

4)I love not blue car. Incorrect
5)I don't love blue car. The verb form is correct but the sentence should be I don't like the blue car or I don't like blue cars.
6)Not a blue car is interesting. Incorrect
7)Not a blue car is interesting. Incorrect
8)A blue car is not interesting. Correct, but more usually : Blue cars aren't interesting.

Explanations

A. Not can follow any auxiliary verb or the verb BE when this is the main and only verb, to negate the verb phrase. Some examples :

I can't see you tomorrow
: can (aux) +not
I won't be there on Tuesday : will (aux) + not
David isn't working today : be (aux) + not
I'm not sure : Be (main verb) + not
He hasn't got many friends : have(aux) + not
We mustn't be late : must (aux) + not
I don't like chocolate : do (aux) + not

This explains why the verbs in your sentences 1, and 6 are correct. For example :
That car didn't hit me : did (aux) + not

B. Not can also negate a quantifier like many, a lot of, enough etc when it's part of the subject : Not many people know about it.

C. Not can be used in a "short answer" :
A : Can I see you on Tuesday.
B : Not Tuesday, no. I'm busy.
But here the full meaning is You can't see me on Tuesday. So again, really, not negates the verb phrase, as in (1) above.

Perhaps your sentence 2 could be changed to :
A: Which car hit you? That one?
B : No, Not that car, but the one under the tree.
(= That car didn't hit me. The one under the tree hit me)

D. No negates a noun or noun phrase :
He had [I]no idea what to do.
There's no way we can finish this before Wednesday[/I].
It's often used in this sort of fixed phrase (no idea, no way, no hope) but with other nouns often sounds rather formal. Not any is usually used instead :
There are no buses running = There aren't any buses running. (Nb : BE+not as above, any+noun)

E. The correct version of your sentence 3 is There is nothing to study, but there is some homework (to do).
Notice that homework is an uncountable noun and always singular.

6. Your sentence 5 :

First of all, the verb love is only used in the negative if you are talking literally, not metaphorically to mean "likes very much". . In the affirmative you can say : Chris loves Alex or Chris loves playing chess. But in the negative Chris doesn't love Alex is fine, but you need to say Chris doesn't like playing chess.

Then, there are two different possibilities - are you talking about a specific blue car - I like the blue car - or blue cars in general - I like blue cars.

Then, there are two different possibilities - are you talking about a specific blue car - I like the blue car - or blue cars in general - I like blue cars.[/QUOTE]

Some time I hear "A tiger is fierce" and "a tiger" refer to every tiger.

B. Not can also negate a quantifier like many, a lot of, enough etc when it's part of the subject : Not many people know about it.

I like this answers. THank you very much.

So this sentence "I drink not enough water." is correct?😂

C. Not can be used in a "short answer" :

Can I use the short answers like this?
such as
"Not walk(v.)."
" Not go(v.)."
"No walk(n.)"
"don't go(v)"

thadajirajaras wrote:Then, there are two different possibilities - are you talking about a specific blue car - I like the blue car - or blue cars in general - I like blue cars.

Some time I hear "A tiger is fierce" and "a tiger" refer to every tiger.[/QUOTE]

Yes - but the use of the plural is more usual.

thadajirajaras wrote:Can I use the short answers like this?
such as
"Not walk(v.)."
" Not go(v.)."
"No walk(n.)"
"don't go(v)"

For the first two, it depends on the question. It's hard to think of realistic examples for these examples, but perhaps if people heard the word wrongly ...

A : Let's talk over there.
B : Sorry? Let's walk where???
A : Not walk - I said talk. (= I didn't say "walk")

Any misheard or misunderstood word or phrase can be negated like this, whether it's a noun, verb, preposition or whatever, as the underlying idea is always really negating the verb phrase eg:

A : David said you were born in Paris. Is that true?
B : Not born there, no. But I lived there as a child. (= I wasn't born there)

The third one is easier, but it's not a "short" answer but the whole phrase:

A : Let's go for a walk. Or we could play chess.
B : Oh no - it's too hot to go for a walk. And chess is boring.
A : OK, no walk and no chess. So what do you want to do?

The final example is a negative imperative :

A : I have to go now.
B : Oh please don't go yet!

thadajirajaras wrote:I like this answers. THank you very much.

So this sentence "I drink not enough water." is correct?😂

No - I said when it was part of the subject of the sentence. Here it's part of the object, and so again, it's the verb which must be negated. Compare :

Not many people
know this.
Subject : not many people
verb : know
object : this

and

I don't drink enough water
Subject : I
Verb : don't drink
Object : enough water

The common language is language that most people in the world use in daily life not only for the specific situations.

How about in this case?

Yes - though note a couple of other corrections:
The common language is language that most people in the world use in daily life, and not only for specific situations.

But it's exactly the same as what I said above - this must be understood as a negation of the verb phrase omitting repetition of the verb use . The full meaning is : ... and that they don't only use for specific situations.

Sue - You're a champ! 😃

It's not my site, but I'll thank you for Eric (who may or may not have left the building.) Thanks for taking the time to answer all these questions with such thorough explanations and examples.

Thanks sue
You help me very much.