can not VS cannot

[Lady of snow]

what is the difference between "can not" and "connot" when I can use both of them ?

 

[konungursvia]

I would only use "cannot."

 

[emsr2d2]

What is the difference between "can not" and "cannot" when I can use both of them?

Note my corrections in red. It is possible to use the combination of "can" and "not" as two separate words. Most of the time, "cannot" will be correct.

 

[Rover_KE]

Lady of snow, type your excellent thread title in the Google Custom S(earch) box near the top of the page. You will find links to previous answers to your question.

 

[MikeNewYork]

what is the difference between "can not" and "connot" when I can use both of them ?

Practically speaking, "cannot" is always a safe choice. In certain contexts, one can write "can not" when one wants to emphasize the "not". In spoken English we do that with increased stress on "not".

 

[Odessa Dawn]

Practically speaking, "cannot" is always a safe choice. In certain contexts, one can write "can not" when one wants emphasize the "not". In spoken English we do that with increased stress on "not".

Why did not you, Mike, use the full infinitive after the verb want- want to emphasize, please?

​

 

[Boris Tatarenko]

the same question.

 

[emsr2d2]

Why did not you, Mike, use the full infinitive after the verb want- want to emphasize, please?

​

the same question.

As Mike is probably asleep, I have taken the liberty of correcting his typo. I have added "to".

 

[MikeNewYork]

I apologize for my typing error and I appreciate emsr's correction.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Is it fault-finding to look for typos which are beside the point?

 

[5jj]

Is it fault-finding to look for typos which are beside the point?

I don't understand your question. In a language forum, It is always legitimate to ask about or point out typos. Why should it not be?

 

[MikeNewYork]

Is it fault-finding to look for typos which are beside the point?

No. We are all expected to write and spell correctly.

 

[Matthew Wai]

In an language forum

Should it be "a" instead of "an"? A typo?

 

[5jj]

Yes

 

[emsr2d2]

Is it fault-finding to look for typos which are beside the point?

In a language learning situation, no typos are "beside the point". If a learner reads Mike's post (or any other post with a typo in) and does not realise that it is an accidental typo, they might assume it is correct simply because it was written by a native speaker. We don't always point out typos - the moderators generally correct their own and each other's (and some very basic ones in other users' posts) using the Edit Post facility. It just so happened that in this case, another user spotted the error and, very helpfully, pointed it out and asked if it was a typo or on purpose. We find it rather impressive when it's a learner who spots an error, rather than a native speaker. ;-)

 

[Barb_D]

As you know, we make our share of typing mistakes.

If you are 95% sure it was a mistake, and think most people would recognize it as one, you can ignore it.
If you're "pretty sure" then it's fine to say "Hey, was that a typing mistake when you omittied "a" [or "to"] [or whatever]?"
If you are are genuinely confused, then ask.

The computer I've been using lately doesn't have the spell check installed. And I can't install it. That's why I've gotten worse.