· I don’t find it a very enjoyable place.
· I didn’t say I will come here every day.
· But that doesn’t mean you should sell rotten vegetables.
All the sentences above are ‘negative’ sentences.
(at the doctor’s), we discused one way of forming negatives. The examples were :
I haven’t been feeling well lately.
We aren’t ready.
They won’t call us back.
This can’t be done easily.
In these examples, we added not (n’t) directly to verbs.
Positive : I have...
Negative : I have not (haven’t)..
Positive : We are..
Negative : We are not (aren’t)..
Positive : They will..
Negative : The will not (won’t)..
Positive : This can..
Negative : This cannot (can’t)..
We can add not (n’t) directly to the verb, if the verb is one of the following.
Am have do shall can must
Is has does will could ought
Are had did should may need
Was would might dare
Were used (to)
These verbs are called ‘helping verbs’
But look at the following sentences.
I find it a very enjoyable place.
I said I would come here very day.
But that means you should...
The verbs in these sentences are : find, said, and means. Look at the list of ‘helping verbs’ in the box above. Are these verb ‘helping verbs’? No, they are not. So, we cannot add not (n’t) directly to the verbs. What do we do, then, to form negative?
Positive Negative
I find... I do not (don’t) find...
....that means.. ...that does not (doesn’t) mean...
I said... I did not (didn’t) say...
We have used do, does and did, and added not to them. Study a few more examples:
Positive : We know the answer.
Negative : We do not (don’t) know the answer.
Positive : She knows how to swim.
Negative : she does not (doesn’t) know how to swim.
Positive : You tried very hard.
Negative : You did not (didn’t) try very hard.
Turn the following sentences into the negative.
- I like the rainy season.
- He work in a factory.
- We came back early last night.
- I walked in the rain.
- She wears jeans.
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