#BusinessEnglish #Englishlanguage #Makinganegative #Englishnegatives
Making a negative is actually quite easy in English. Just remember to use the word 'not' after the auxiliary.
In a simple verb sentence such as 'I work every day,' the negative is 'I do not work every day.'
Ah yes, we add the word 'do' into this situation and it becomes the auxiliary verb. If it is the simple present or the simple past we add 'do, does or did' + 'not' to make the negative and when speaking, we contract into 'don't, doesn't, didn't.' For example:
- I work / I don't work.
- He works / he doesn't work. (notice that 'works' returns to the infinitive form 'work')
- They worked / they didn't work. (notice that 'worked' returns to the infinitive form 'work')
Please take care when you use the verb 'to have'. If it is in the simple present or past, the same rules apply.
- I have / I don't have.
- He has / he doesn't have.
- They had / they didn't have
Sometimes it is confusing because in English there is the present perfect tense, which uses the verb 'have' as an auxiliary. Remember that 'not' goes after the auxiliary.
The present perfect is 'have' in the simple present + the past participle.
The negative is 'have' in the simple present + 'not' + past participle.
- I have finished / I have not finished.
- He has finished / He has not finished.
- They have finished / they have not finished.
But there is a small complication, which arises because of contractions. I have not finished could also be I've not finished OR I haven't finished. So, look at these examples again:
- I have finished / I have not finished / I've not finished / I haven't finished.
- He has finished / He has not finished / He's not finished / he hasn't finished.
- They have finished / they have not finished / They've not finished / They haven't finished.
The contraction can happen between the subject and the auxiliary verb (I've, you've, he's, she's, it's, we've, they've) OR the auxiliary and the word 'not' (haven't, hasn't).
The past perfect is exactly the same but using 'had' as the auxiliary.
- I had finished / I had not finished / I'd not finished / I hadn't finished.
- He had finished / He had not finished / he'd not finished / he hadn't finished.
- They had finished / they had not finished / They'd not finished / they hadn't finished.
Now, the question is whether or not there is a difference between 'I'd not finished' and 'I hadn't finished.'
There is a subtle difference between these two formats but nothing to worry about. They are both used in conversation but if you wanted to be exact, contracting the subject and auxiliary together puts the emphasis on the subject.
I've not finished is more about 'I' than the 'finished.' But, 'I haven't finished' is more about the fact of not being 'finished.'
These same rules apply to the continuous tenses.
The present continuous, which is the subject + the verb 'to be' + the present participle:
I am working / I am not working / I'm not working. (this is the only contraction for 'I')
You are working / You are not working / You're not working / You aren't working.
He is working / He is not working / He's not working / He isn't working.
They are working / They are not working / They're not working / They aren't working.
And the past continuous, which uses the past of the verb 'to be,' there is only 1 option for the contraction.
I was working / I was not working / I wasn't working. (this is the only contraction for 'I')
You were working / You were not working / You weren't working
He was working / He was not working / He wasn't working.
They were working / They were not working / They weren't working.
In summary, add the word 'not' after the auxiliary and you have your negative.
Be aware that I hear student using sentences such as "I have not a car" but it should be "I don't have a car." Remember in the simple present or past, we use don't, doesn't or didn't for the negative.
Please contact if you need lessons, have any questions or just want to comment.
Thank you for reading this and I hope it helped you.
