Difference between revisions of "Not"
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**I<span style="color:maroon;">'m not</span> sure. // I <span style="color:maroon;">ain't</span> going. (<i>ain't</i> is fairly widespread colloquial American) | **I<span style="color:maroon;">'m not</span> sure. // I <span style="color:maroon;">ain't</span> going. (<i>ain't</i> is fairly widespread colloquial American) | ||
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| − | *I personally do not combine <span style="color:darkblue;">n't</span> with <i>may</i>, <i>might</i> or <i>shall</i>. | + | *I personally do not combine <span style="color:darkblue;">n't</span> with <i>may</i>, <i>might</i> or <i>shall</i>. <b>compare at google</b>: <span style="color:darkblue;">couldn't // mayn't // shan't</span> |
| − | |||
<br /><br /> | <br /><br /> | ||
*Usage rules are fairly strict. <b>In formal writing abbreviations are to be avoided.</b> The only accepted use of the apostrophe in formal writing is generally to indicate the possessive / genitive case. This is a prescriptivist, but pragmatically important, rule to know. | *Usage rules are fairly strict. <b>In formal writing abbreviations are to be avoided.</b> The only accepted use of the apostrophe in formal writing is generally to indicate the possessive / genitive case. This is a prescriptivist, but pragmatically important, rule to know. | ||
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<p>Remember: the apostrophe has two uses in English: | <p>Remember: the apostrophe has two uses in English: | ||
#it represents a missing sound: | #it represents a missing sound: | ||
| − | + | #*the <span style="color:darkcyan;">o</span> of <span style="color:maroon;">n<u>o</u>t</span> | |
| − | + | #*the <span style="color:darkcyan;">i</span> of <span style="color:maroon;"><u>i</u>s</span> (it's, he's, she's, something's, there's) | |
| − | + | #*the <span style="color:darkcyan;">a</span> of <span style="color:maroon;"><u>a</u>re</span> (You're, We're, They're) | |
| − | + | #*the <span style="color:darkcyan;">a</span> of <span style="color:maroon;"><u>a</u>m</span> (I'm (I am)) | |
| − | + | #*the <span style="color:darkcyan;">ha</span> of <span style="color:maroon;"><u>ha</u>ve</span>, <span style="color:maroon;"><u>ha</u>d</span> (I've got a cold, If I'd known you were sick, ...) | |
| − | + | #*the <span style="color:darkcyan;">woul</span> of <span style="color:maroon;"><u>woul</u>d</span>: (... I'd have brought chocolate. You'd like chocolate, no?) | |
| − | + | #*the <span style="color:darkcyan;">wi</span> of <span style="color:maroon;"><u>wi</u>ll</span>: they'll call back. | |
| − | + | #it represents possession: | |
| − | #it represents possession: Sofiane's / Luke's / Zeke's / Mohammed's / the students' notebooks.</p> | + | #*Sofiane's / Luke's / Zeke's / Mohammed's / the students' notebooks.</p> |
=adverb= | =adverb= | ||
Revision as of 16:29, 23 January 2014
negation
- In spoken English, not becomes n't when attached to an auxiliary which is not itself abbreviated.
- I've not heard much. // I haven't heard much.
- I'm not sure. // I ain't going. (ain't is fairly widespread colloquial American)
- I personally do not combine n't with may, might or shall. compare at google: couldn't // mayn't // shan't
- Usage rules are fairly strict. In formal writing abbreviations are to be avoided. The only accepted use of the apostrophe in formal writing is generally to indicate the possessive / genitive case. This is a prescriptivist, but pragmatically important, rule to know.
In written dialogue, the apostrophe is nevertheless common. An example:
Counselor: You couldn't have known that Doug wasn't coming.
Therapist: I didn't know; and I wouldn't have re-arranged my schedule if I hadn't thought he would be there.
Counselor: He hasn't been coming to those meetings for several weeks.
Therapist: I won't make the same mistake twice. Next time, if he isn't coming, I ain't going either!
Counselor: We should send the secretary a message Thursday, don't you think, just to confirm?
Therapist: Oh, you mustn't have heard, the secretary resigned yesterday.
Counselor: Oh no, he shouldn't have. I'm not surprised though. He wasn't happy about all the criticism last month. Things may not have been perfect, but at least things got done.
Therapist: Absolutely. Back to Doug again. Doesn't he have a cell phone?
Counselor: I'm not sure, I haven't got a number. I can't find his email address either.
The Therapist's cellphone rings.
Therapist: You're not going to believe this. It's Doug.
. . .
Remember: the apostrophe has two uses in English:
- it represents a missing sound:
- the o of not
- the i of is (it's, he's, she's, something's, there's)
- the a of are (You're, We're, They're)
- the a of am (I'm (I am))
- the ha of have, had (I've got a cold, If I'd known you were sick, ...)
- the woul of would: (... I'd have brought chocolate. You'd like chocolate, no?)
- the wi of will: they'll call back.
- it represents possession:
- Sofiane's / Luke's / Zeke's / Mohammed's / the students' notebooks.
adverb
Negations of this sort are considered to be adverbs by almost all dictionaries, like the words yes and no. Some Indo-European examples:
- nicht (Germ.)
- non (Lat.)
- pas (Fr.)
- nje (не) (Russ.)
predeterminer
Some deny the existence of determiners (articles, demonstratives, quantifiers), so the idea that a grammatical class such as predeterminers should exist is not always welcomed easily, especially by those who teach what is known in France as la grammaire scolaire.
- Not a one
- Not everybody
- not some time later (6m examples at Google, not a few of which are difficult to evaluate grammatically)
- not a few of which
- not the least of which
In any case, it is clear that the boundaries between adverbs and determination in the noun phrase (particularly deictic determination: today, tomorrow, this, that) are relatively fuzzy. At least four of the examples would clearly seem to be noun phrases.
