Won't you come? vs. Will you not come?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Yura Reiri

Junior Member
Joined
May 26, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Tagalog
Home Country
Philippines
Current Location
Philippines
Is this grammatically correct?

Won't you come with me?

or should it be

Will you not come with me?

Thank you!
 

bhaisahab

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Ireland
Is this grammatically correct?

Won't you come with me?

or should it be

Will you not come with me?

Thank you!
"Won't you come with me?" is fine, it's much more common that "Will you not..."
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
"Won't you come with me?" is fine, it's much more common that "Will you not..."

In certain places, "Will you not..." would be more common - the South-West of Ireland for example. It's a common construction.

Any other followers of the wonderful Father Ted TV show will, I'm sure, recall Mrs Doyle's regular:

Will ya have a cup of tea, Father?
Will ya not have a sandwich, Father Jack?
Ah, ya will, ya will, ya will.

Somehow, it's not quite so funny written down!
 

bhaisahab

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Ireland
In certain places, "Will you not..." would be more common - the South-West of Ireland for example. It's a common construction.

Any other followers of the wonderful Father Ted TV show will, I'm sure, recall Mrs Doyle's regular:

Will ya have a cup of tea, Father?
Will ya not have a sandwich, Father Jack?
Ah, ya will, ya will, ya will.

Somehow, it's not quite so funny written down!
Yes, that's true, I lived in "Father Ted country" (the coast of Galway/Mayo) for twelve years. There are a lot of older constructions that are still in common use in the region.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top