How to form negative sentences in English?

The most common way to form a negative sentence in English is to put the word not between the auxiliary verbNo definition set for auxiliary verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. and the main verbNo definition set for main verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.:

We use negative sentences like these to say that something is false or untrue:

• He is not my brother. We’re just friends.

• I did not like that movie. It was so boring!

• They couldn’t find a parking space, so they drove away.

In this post, we’ll look more at how to form negative sentences with a negative verb, and how to make a sentence negative with other negative words. Then, at the end, we’ve added some tips for advanced learners about how to use negation with modal verbs!

Time to jump in, whether you’re ready or not!

A negative sentence states that something is untrue, an action isn’t happening, or something doesn’t possess a certain quality.

A negative sentence is the opposite of a positive (or “affirmative”) sentence. An affirmative sentence says that something is true, an action is happening, or something possesses a certain quality.

She has straight hair.

→ positive sentence

She does not have straight hair.

→ negative sentence

The most common way to form a negative sentence in English is to put the word not after the first auxiliary verb. Use the formula below:

Recall that an auxiliary verb can be be, have, or do, but it can also be a modal verb like should, could, can, etc.

Here are a couple examples with just one auxiliary verb:

And here are some examples with more than one auxiliary verb:

The rule is simple! But there are a few tricky cases. Keep reading to learn more!

To form the negative form of a sentence with no auxiliary verb, you will need to add do / does / did + not before the rootNo definition set for rootLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. form of the main verb:

Remember:

The contractions that we use in negative sentences in English usually combine the auxiliary verb with the word not. Most contractions follow the same formula:

However, a few are a little less predictable, especially: can't (can + not) or won’t (will + not).

Here’s a handy table to help you see the many different contractions we can use in negative sentences:

There are two different ways to form contractions in negative sentences with the verb be.

• Like with other auxiliary verbs, you can usually contract be + not:

  • He isn’t coming.

  • They aren't happy.

  • We weren’t being kind.

  However, notice that there is no contraction for am + not:

  ❌ I amn't going to the movies.

  Exception!

  In some American dialects, people will combine am + not to form the non-standard word ain’t :

  • I ain’t driving that far.

    I ain’t listening to all that.

    I ain’t cooking dinner tonight.

  However, ain’t means more than just am + not! You can use ain’t for are not, is not, have not, and has not!

  • The children are not playing inside. → The children ain’t playing inside.

  • He is not paying for dinner. → He ain’t paying for dinner.

  • I have not seen them. → I ain’t seen them.

  • She has not left yet. → She ain’t left yet.

  But a little warning! While most people in the U.S. will understand ain’t, it is not accepted in writing and is not “proper” English. If you’re just learning English, it’s better to learn without ain’t or to only use it in very informal situations.

• In the present tense, you can also make a contraction with the subject + be, and then add not as a separate word:

  • He’s not coming. / He isn't coming.

  • They’re not happy. / They aren't coming.

  • I’m not going to the movies.

  There is no difference in meaning or formality, but native English speakers tend to use the second set of contractions more often because there are fewer syllables.

  You can also form a contraction between the subject + have or subject + will in a negative sentence with not, but this sounds old-fashioned. It is more common in Britain.

  • 🆗We’ve not seen him. = ✅ We haven't seen him.

  • 🆗I'd not seen him. = ✅ I hadn't seen him.

  • 🆗I'll not forget this. = ✅ I won't forget this.

  • 🆗You'll not forget this. = ✅ You won't forget this.

Sometimes instead of making a verb negative by adding not, English speakers might prefer to make a whole sentence negative by adding a negative word. These are individual words you can add to a sentence to make the sentence negative. These include:

• never

• neither

• no

• none

• no one

• nobody

• nothing

• …and more!

You can add each of these words to a sentence with a positive verb to make the sentence negative:

• I eat pasta. → I never eat pasta.

• I ate some pasta. → I ate no pasta.

• Everyone ate pasta. → No one ate pasta.

The important thing to remember is that, in English, you cannot use a negative word in a sentence that’s already negative:

• ❌ I don't never eat pasta.
  ✅ I don't ever eat pasta.

• ❌ I don’t eat neither pasta nor pizza.
  ✅ I don’t eat either pasta or pizza.

• ❌ I didn’t eat no pasta.
  ✅ I didn’t eat any pasta.

Remember that if you want to use not to make a sentence negative, then the negative word should be replaced with a corresponding positive word:

• I baked two extra pies. Do you want either of them?

  • I want neither.

  • I do not want either.

• Have you eaten any fruit today?

  • I have eaten no fruit today.

  • I have not eaten any fruit today.

• Have you ever traveled to China?

  • I have never traveled to China.

  • I have not ever traveled to China.

This post is a very quick review of using these words to create negative sentences, but if you’d like to learn about each of these words more in depth, check out our post on neither or our post on no and none.

Some other kinds of negative sentences in English include:

• Negative commands are commands that tell someone not to do something:

  • Don’t touch the artwork!

  • Don’t forget to do your homework!

  You can learn more about how and when to use negative commands from our post on the imperative in English.

• Negative questions are asked to confirm that our assumptions are correct, when it looks like maybe they were wrong:

  • Aren’t you coming with us?

  • Didn’t he used to be a famous actor?

  • Shouldn’t you bring a coat?

  You can learn more about how and when to use negative questions from our post on asking questions in English!

Sometimes modal verbs (e.g. can, would, should, might, ...) and semi-modals (e.g. need to, have to, ought to, ...) will follow special negation rules. Here are a couple of the most important ones:

• ‘can not’ vs. ‘cannot’ vs. ‘can’t’

  Usually, if you are not using a contraction, the auxiliary and the word not will be separate words (e.g. am not). However can and not usually combine to form the word cannot. This affects both the spelling and the pronunciation.

  Why? The idea is that using cannot will help you distinguish between two different meanings:

  • I cannot / can't help you.

    → I have no ability to help you.

  • I can not help you.

    → I am offering to let you do it alone.

  Not all English speakers use this spelling difference exactly the same way, but it is generally best practice to use the single word cannot or the contraction can’t unless you are offering to abstain from doing something.

• ‘not need to’ vs. ‘needn’t’

  In the simple present tense, there are two ways to create a negative sentence when the verb is need to:

  You need to go grocery shopping.

  • Add do and not → You don’t need to go grocery shopping.

  • Use needn't → You needn’t go grocery shopping. go grocery shopping.

  The word needn’t is formal, but it is still used in speech. Notice also, that the word to is not used before the infinitive verb when you use the expression needn’t.

• ‘ought to’ and ‘oughtn’t’

  In English, you cannot use not before the expression ought to:

  You ought to go grocery shopping.
  ❌ You do not ought to go grocery shopping.

  Usually you will just use not need to or shouldn’t to negate a sentence with ought to:

  • You ought to go grocery shopping.
    ✅ You don’t need to go grocery shopping.

  • You ought to be mean to your sister.
    ✅ You shouldn’t be mean to your sister

  However, rarely you can use the phrase oughtn’t (to) instead. This is very old-fashioned, and you will mostly see this in old books.

  ✅ You oughtn’t to be so mean to your sister.

• ‘mightn’t’ and ‘mayn’t’

  The words might and may can technically form contractions with not: mightn’t and mayn’t. However, these are very old-fashioned and used only when these verbs talk about permission, not with possibility.

  • Jane said Marie may not see you on Monday.

    → ✅ It is possible that Marie will not see you on Monday.
    → ✅ Marie is not allowed to see you on Monday.
    

  • Jane said Marie mayn’t see you on Monday. (old-fashioned)

    → ❌ It is possible that Marie will not see you on Monday.
    → ✅ Marie is not allowed to see you on Monday.
    

In this post, we covered many different ways that you can make negative sentences in English! Let’s review some of the things we discussed:

• A negative statement says that something is untrue or an action isn’t happening.

• The easiest way to form a negative is by adding not after the first auxiliary verb:subject + auxiliary + not + main verb

• If there is no auxiliary verb, we usually add do (unless the main verb is be!).

• You can create contractions out of most auxiliary verbs + not.

• You can also create a negative sentence by using a negative word.

If you’re feeling a lot more comfortable being negative, check out some of our practice activities to try writing your own negative sentences!