Learn English Grammar
How to Write Negative Sentences
Negative :-
expressing “no”:
We received a negative answer to our request.
A negative sentence or phrase is one that contains a word such as “not”, “no”, “never”, or “nothing”:
“I’ve never seen him in my life” is a negative sentence.
“Don’t” and “do not” are negative forms of “do”.
More examples
The negative reply to my complaint really irked me.
The negative reply dashed his spirits.
They gave a negative response to our request for help.(Source)- https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/negative
Negatives Sentences
Read the following sentences
They are not working hard.
They will not be working hard.
They had not worked hard.
They have not been working hard.
They might not have been working hard.
We frame negative sentences. Most of the negative sentences are framed by using “helping/auxiliary verb + not” or in another words we often use “not” after auxiliary verbs.
We make negatives by putting not after the first part of the verb.
Read the following sentences
He does not sing a song.
I donot write a story.
Teacher did not give homework
Affirmative sentences in the simple present tense are changed into negatives by putting do not or does not before the verb.
Affirmative sentences in the simple past tense are changed into negatives by putting did not before the verb.
The most frequently used negative words are no, not, nothing, never, none, no one, nowhere, neither, and nobody. (Northern Illinois University)
There are some words which have a negative element in their meanings although they contain no overly negative affix. These words are: hardly, scarcely, barely, etc.
| Incorrect: I haven’t barely started to think about my exam. | Correct: I have barely started to think about my exam. |
Complete the following negative sentences:-
| Incomplete Negative Sentences | Complete the sentence | Complete the Sentence |
| I am not | I am not a good boy | I am not singing a song. |
| He is not | ||
| She is not | ||
| It is not | ||
| You are not | ||
| They are not | ||
| I was not | ||
| He was not | ||
| She was not | ||
| It was not | ||
| You were not | ||
| They were not | ||
| Ram has not | Ram has not written story | |
| I have not | I haven’t much time. | I haven’t more money. |
| Teachers have not | ||
| Mother should not | ||
| Child should not | ||
| We will not | ||
| The principal did not | ||
| Shalini may not | ||
| Sikha might not | ||
| John could not | ||
| Frame your own negative sentence using different subject, verb , object | Frame your own negative sentence using different subject, verb , object | Frame your own negative sentence using different subject, verb , object |
| They were not playing cricket | We were not sleeping. | I am a good boy |
| We aren’t studying Russian | ||
| Rohil is not a good singer | This is not a black cow | He is not running fast |
| She does not walk in the park. | He did not get a good score on the test. | |
| He did not win the competition. | ||
| Raja did not see anybody at work today. | ||
| Priya did not call me yesterday. | ||
| The computer does not work. | They don’t practice yoga. | |
| I do not like pizza. | ||
| She does not like coffee. | ||
| You didn’t finish your work. | ||
| They didn’t like the movie. | ||
Common Helping Verbs
| am | is | are |
| was | were | be |
| being | been | have |
| has | had | do |
| does | did | can |
| could | may | might |
| must | will | should |
| would | ought to | used to |
Common Negative Words
| never | no | hardly |
| nobody | none | scarcely |
| no one | not | barely |
| nowhere | rarely |
| Recapitulation Negatives are usually formed using a negative word plus a helping verb. |