A sentence that negates a particular statement or an affirmative sentence is called a negative sentence. It does not always imply something bad; but, just conveys that a particular, statement or condition is false. There are two common words used to show negation- no and not. Go through the following example sentences-
1) There are no apples in the basket.
2) He is not interested in the project.
3) There was no car on the road.
4) You cannot go to the movie alone.
5) They should not miss their classes.
6) Cats do not like swimming.
7) There is no one in the house.
8) No man is totally perfect.
9) There was not a single bus at station.
10) They cannot pursue their dreams this way.
In the above examples ‘no’ is used as an adjective before a noun or a pronoun; and ‘not’ is used after a ‘be’ verb (is, am, are, was, were, being, been and be, do, have, will), a modal verb (can, may, must, should, would, might, shall, could, ought) or an auxiliary verb.
There are many shorter abbreviations for a ‘not’ with an auxiliary verb. Like- ‘is not’ can be written as ‘isn’t’, does not can be written as ‘doesn’t’, ‘cannot’ can be written as ‘can’t’, would not- wouldn’t, should not- shouldn’t, will not- won’t, was not- wasn’t, could not- couldn’t. We will understand it with the help of suitable examples.
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‘No’ can be used as an adjective and as well as an adverb; depending on the sentences as explained below-
1) Use of ‘No’ as an Adjective
Go through the below given sentences-
Below, the above sentences are negated by using ‘no’-
When used as an adjective ‘no’ is placed before a singular or plural noun as in above examples.
2) Use of ‘No’ as an Adverb
As an adverb ‘no’ is placed before comparative adjective; as shown in the examples below-
Try forming new positive sentences and negating them by using ‘No’ as an adverb and adjective.
1) Negative Sentences in Simple Present From
Simple Present Tense sentences are the first type of sentences that we come across when we start learning English language. It is therefore important that we first learn to convert Simple Present Positive sentences into negative. For this we will take Simple Present Tense Sentences one by one and negate them by proper use of auxiliary verbs( do, does) and (no, not).
The above sentence is an affirmative sentence in Simple Present form. Let us now negate the sentence as below-
The basic formula for Negative Sentences In Simple Present Tense can thus be constructed as-
Few simple rules are to be followed for forming Negative sentences in Simple Present, i.e. if the subject is she, he, it or a singular noun then auxiliary verb ‘does’ is used; and, if the subject is- we, they, I, you or a plural noun then auxiliary verb ‘do’ is used. Care must be taken to choose the base form of the Main verb while representing a negative sentence in Simple Present Form.
Below we will go through some more affirmative sentences in simple Present and their Negative forms-
Sentences with subjects- he, she, it or a singular noun is to be negated by using ‘does not’-
Sentences with subjects- we, they, I, you or a plural noun is to be negated by using ‘do not’-
Now that we have understood the basics of negative sentences with use of ‘do not’ and ‘does not’, we will further move towards the use of ‘no’ in negating an affirmative sentence.
2) Negative Sentences In Present Continuous Form
Let us consider some affirmative sentences in Present continuous Tense, as given below-
The following sentences can be negated by using ‘not’ before the main verb; without changing the present form of the verb, as shown below-
From the above examples a basic formula for the Negative sentences in present continuous form can be constructed as-
The formation of the sentence remains the same irrespective of the subject. That is the formula is same whether the subject is he, she, it, a singular noun, we, they, I, you or a plural noun.
3) Negative Sentences In Present Perfect Form
First go through the below sentences in Present Perfect Form-
Now go through the negatives of the above sentences given below-
The basic formula for Negative Present Perfect Sentences can thus be structured from the above examples-
Note- If the subject is she, he, it or a singular noun then Auxiliary verb ‘has’ is used; and, if the subject is we, they, you, I or a plural noun then Auxiliary verb ‘has’ is used.
4) Negative Sentences In Present Perfect Continuous Form
Consider the below sentences in Present Perfect Continuous Form-
Now consider the negative of the above sentences, given below-
The structure formula for negative sentences in Present Perfect Continuous Form is-
Note- If the subject is –she, he, it or a singular noun, ‘has not been’ is used; and if the subject is we, they, I, you or a plural noun then ‘have not been is used’.
5) Negative Sentences In Simple Past Form
Go through the below given Simple Past Form Sentences-
The structure/Formula for the above sentences –
Now consider the Negatives of the above sentences-
Therefore the Structural Formula for Negative Sentences In simple Past From can be constructed as-
Note- Irrespective of the subject the auxiliary verb remains the same.
6) Negative Sentences In Past Continuous Form
Let us first go through few sentences in Past continuous Form-
The structure formula for the above sentences is-
The negative forms of the above sentences are-
The structure/formula for Negative sentences In Past Continuous form is-
Note- If the subject is he, she, it or a singular noun then auxiliary verb will be- was; and, if the subject is we, they, I, you or a plural noun then the auxiliary verb will be – Were.
7) Negative Sentences In Past Perfect Form
Consider the sentences below in Past Perfect Form-
While converting the above sentences into negative, the verb remains in Past Participle form(3rd form) and ‘Not’ is inserted between the auxiliary verb ‘had’ and the main verb. The structure for Negative Sentence In Past Perfect Form is as given below-
Therefore the Negative counterparts for the above mentioned Positive Sentences will be-
Note- Auxiliary verb and the Main verb remain same, irrespective of the subject.
8) Negative Sentences In Past Perfect Continuous Form
Go through the following sentences in Past Perfect continuous Form-
The above sentences can be easily converted into Negative sentences easily by inserting ‘had not been’ as the auxiliary verb instead of had been; as shown in the structural formula below-
The negative forms of the above sentences are as given below-
Note- ‘Had not been’ and the form of verb remains the same; irrespective of the subject.
9) Negative Sentences In Simple Future Form
Go through the following sentences in Simple Future Tense Form-
The above sentences can be easily converted into negative sentences by placing ‘not’ between auxiliary verb ‘will’ and the main verb-
The Negative counterparts of the above sentences are given below-
Note- The auxiliary verb and the main verb remain the same; irrespective of the subject.
10) Negative Sentences In Future Continuous Form-
Go through the following sentences in Future Continuous form-
The Structure/Formula for converting the above sentences into Negative is-
Therefore, applying the above structural formula we get the negative counterparts of the above sentences-
Note- the auxiliary verb- ‘will not be’ and the ‘ing form of verb ‘will not change irrespective of the subject.
11) Negative Sentences In Future Perfect Form
Go through the below sentences in Future Perfect Form-
The structure/formula for converting the above sentences into their negative counterparts is-
The negative counterparts for the above sentences are-
Note- The auxiliary verb- ‘would/will not be’ and the verb form remain same, irrespective of the subject.
12) Negative Sentences In Future Perfect Continuous Tense
Go through the below sentences in Future Perfect Continuous Tenses-
The structure/formula for converting the above sentences into their negative counterparts is-
Therefore the negative counterparts for the above sentences are –
Note- ‘will not have been’ and the verb form remains the same; irrespective of the Subject.
Affirmative To Negative Sentences Exercise With Answers:
In the exercise below, there is an affirmative sentence provided; and its incomplete negative counterpart with three choices is also given. Choose the appropriate choice which correctly converts the given affirmative sentence into negative sentence. Verify your progress with the answers provided in the end.
1) He is going to the college. (Positive)
He is ________ going to the college. (Negative)
2) Mohit caught the fish. (Positive)
Mohit __________ the fish. (Negative)
3) She gave me her book. (Positive)
She did not _________ me her book. (Negative)
4) The teacher finished the course in one month. (Positive)
The teacher __________ the work in one month. (Negative)
5) They are playing cricket. (Positive)
They are ________ cricket. (Negative)
6) He is smarter than you. (Positive)
He is _________ than you. (Negative)
7) There are apples in the basket. (Positive)
There are _________ apples in the basket. (Negative)
8) The guests have eaten the dinner. (Positive)
The guests _________ eaten the dinner. (Negative)
9) I have completed my home work. (Positive)
I have not ___________ my home work. (Negative)
10) He has given his consent for the project. (Positive)
He _________ his consent for the project. (Negative)
11) She has bought a new car. (Positive)
She ________ bought a new car. (Negative)
12) He has been living in the house for 10 years. (Positive)
He ___________ living in the house for 10 years. (Negative)
13) I have been working on the project since 2015. (Positive)
I have not been _________ on the project since 2015. (Negative)
14) She has been in the pool for three hours. (Positive)
She _________ in the pool for three hours. (Negative)
15) He bought a car. (Positive)
He did not ________ a car. (Negative)
16) They played cricket all day. (Positive)
They ___________ cricket all day. (Negative)
17) She prepared fruit salad for the kids. (Positive)
She ____________ fruit salad for the kids. (Negative)
18) He was looking for you. (Positive)
He was ________ looking for you. (Negative)
19) She was dancing on the stage. (Positive)
She _________ on the stage. (Negative)
20) They were singing merrily. (Positive)
They _________ singing merrily. (Negative)
21) You were going to the office. (Positive)
You _____________ to the office. (Negative)
22)She had been singing for two hours. (Positive)
She ___________ singing for two hours. (Negative)
23) They had been in the diamond industry since 1935. (Positive)
They ___________ been in the diamond industry since 1935. (Negative)
24) I had been looking for him since last year. (Positive)
I ___________ looking for him since last year. (Negative)
25) The children had been playing since morning. (Positive)
The children had not been __________ since morning. (Negative)
26) He will attend the class tomorrow. (Positive)
He _________ attend the class tomorrow. (Negative)
27) She will cook for the party tonight.
She __________ for the party tonight. (Negative)
28) I will send you a gift. (Positive)
I _________ send you a gift. (Negative)
29) He will meet the principal in office tomorrow. (Positive)
He __________ the principal in office tomorrow. (Negative)
30) He will accept our demands. (Positive)
He _________ our demands. (Negative)
31) She will be cooking dinner. (Positive)
She will _________ be cooking dinner. (Negative)
32) They will be waiting for you. (Positive)
They ___________ waiting for you. (Negative)
33) We will be leaving for New York tomorrow. (Positive)
We _________ leaving for New York tomorrow. (Negative)
34)They will have been living in the house for 10 years. (Positive)
They will _________ living in the house for 10 years. (Negative)
35) The kids will have been playing since morning. (Positive)
The kids ____________ playing since morning. (Negative)
36) She will have been swimming for five years. (Positive)
She will _____________ swimming for five years. (Negative)
Answers- 1)a, 2)c, 3)b, 4)c, 5)a, 6)b, 7)c, 8)b’9)a, 10)c,11)b, 12)a, 13)c, 14)b, 15)c, 16)a, 17)b, 18)b, 19)a, 20)c, 21)b, 22)b, 23)a, 24)c, 25)b, 26)c, 27)a, 28)c, 29)b, 30)c, 31)b, 32)a, 33)b, 34)b, 35)a, 36)c
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