Negation is a contradiction or denial of something.
Negative form is a process that turns a positive statement into its negative form.
For example:
He is a good boy. (positive form)
He is not a good boy. (negative form)
English verbs are negated by placing the word not after the first auxiliary verb or modal (can, must, will, have, be, etc).
For example:
You must clean the table today. (positive form)
You must not clean the table today. (negative form)
* REMEMBER
When we do not have auxiliary verb in the sentence, do not, does not or did not are introduced to form its negative form.
For example:
He likes swimming. (positive form)
He does not like swimming. (negative form)
More examples:
Positive
form
|
Negative
form
|
I am from Sarawak.
|
I am not from Sarawak.
|
She likes listening to rock music.
|
She does not like listening to rock music.
|
I have read this
magazine.
|
I have not read this magazine.
|
You should sleep
late.
|
You should not sleep late.
|
I can help you
with your homework.
|
I cannot help you with your homework.
|
Other common words that show negation include:
- nobody
- never
- nothing
- none
- no one
- nowhere
Some of the negations come in the form of affixes. Some examples are given below :
Affixes
|
Base words
|
Negation
|
Meaning
|
Dis-
|
appear
|
Disappear
|
Not appear
|
In-
|
correct
|
Incorrect
|
Not correct
|
Il-
|
legal
|
Illegal
|
Not legal
|
Im-
|
possible
|
Impossible
|
Not possible
|
Ir
|
regular
|
Irregular
|
Not regular
|
Un-
|
happy
|
Unhappy
|
Not happy
|
-less
|
care
|
Careless
|
Not taking care
|
-free
|
fat
|
Fat-free
|
Contain no fat
|
CONTRACTED FORMS
Negative forms can be contracted.
Long
negative forms
|
Short
negative forms
|
do
not
|
don't
|
does
not
|
doesn't
|
did
not
|
didn't
|
am
not
|
'm
not (*not amn't)
|
is
not
|
isn't
|
are
not
|
aren't
|
was
not
|
wasn't
|
were
not
|
weren't
|
has
not
|
hasn't
|
have
not
|
haven't
|
had
not
|
hadn't
|
should
not
|
shouldn't
|
would
not
|
wouldn't
|
will
not
|
won't
|
must
not
|
mustn't
|
cannot
|
can't
|
Check out the posted video for better view on negation
