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Originally Posted by Omarmusa123 Is there a rule for the word that "not" negates?
e.g. it negates the infinitive "smoke" in "You mustn't smoke," but the modal "could" in "She couldn't have fallen asleep."
I need an answer that can make my students understand rather than memorise the meanings of these constructions. |
You smoke.
You
do not smoke ~ You
don't smoke.
Note, even though
not contracts with the nearest verbal (e.g. do, must, could, etc.) it negates the act (i.e. smoke).
You must smoke.
You
must not smoke ~ You
mustn't smoke.
You
could have fallen down.
You
could not have fallen down ~ You
couldn't have fallen down.