not
part of speech
adverb (not; short form n't)
meaning for a pupil
1) Not makes a sentence say no, or the opposite: It is not cold. tree →
2) Not can go before a word to say «no» to just that word: not quite, not me, not yet. tree →
3) «Not … any» means none at all. tree →
4) «Not only … but also» adds a second, bigger point. tree →
5) (casual) «Not!» said after a sentence (joking, US) takes it back: «I love homework — not!»; «not bad» often means quite good; «not even» means it is not at all true. tree →
6) (rough) «Not a chance», «not on your life», «not bloody likely» (UK) are blunt refusals. tree →
7) (formal) The exam voice says «by no means», «in no case», «under no circumstances», «it is not the case that», «fails to», «other than». tree →
sense in the lessons
«not quite» marks a wrong answer; «does not mean» warns about a cue («Here the word «more» does not mean adding»); «did not eat any» means nothing changed; in everyday life «not yet», «not at all», «why not?», «not bad»; in safety «Do not touch», «under no circumstances»; in casual talk «not even», joking «— not!»; in rough talk «not a chance»; in the exam voice «Which of the following is NOT …», «it is not the case that»
examples
- Not quite: 2. tree →
- Here the word «more» does not mean adding … tree →
- Tom did not eat any of the 6 cakes. tree →
- I am not sleepy. tree →
- It's not fair! tree →
- Do not run near the pool. tree →
- «Can I have a cookie?» «Not now.» tree →
- The bus has not come yet. tree →
- That is not my bag. tree →
- «Will you share?» «Not a chance.» tree →
- «How was the test?» «Not bad, got 18.» tree →
- Which of the following statements is not consistent with the established facts concerning the boiling of water? tree →
- One swallow does not make summer. tree →
note
«does not mean adding» warns that a usual cue does not work here. Trap: «did not eat any» means nothing changed. In an exam «Which of the following is NOT …» asks for the one wrong statement; read the «not» before choosing. A joking «— not!» at the end flips the whole sentence. Short forms: isn't, aren't, don't, doesn't, didn't, can't, won't. Do not mix «not» with «knot» (a tie in a rope): they sound the same.
In the corpora
- Stories about annoying colleagues told at home are private and should not be repeated outside.
- When a parent seems frazzled after work, it is usually the workload, not anything the child did.
- Overtime is working extra hours beyond the normal ones; sometimes it is paid at a higher rate, sometimes not paid at all.
- Some people go to work ill because they can't afford to lose the pay, which spreads germs to everyone else.
- If prices rise and pay doesn't, a person is really getting poorer each year.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «not» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.