Negative Sentences (Grade 11 NSC Matric English FAL): Revision Notes
Negative Sentences
What are negative sentences?
A negative sentence is a statement that shows the opposite meaning of a positive statement. When you make a sentence negative, you are expressing that something is not true, did not happen, or does not exist. Understanding how to form negative sentences correctly is essential for clear communication in English.
In English, we cannot simply add the word "not" anywhere in a sentence. We must follow specific rules and use helping verbs (called auxiliary verbs) to create grammatically correct negative sentences.
How to form a negative sentence
Follow these four important steps to change a positive sentence into a negative one:
Step 1: Add an auxiliary verb
Choose the appropriate helping verb based on your main verb and tense. The three auxiliary verbs used in negatives are:
- 'do' (for present simple with I/you/we/they)
- 'does' (for present simple with he/she/it)
- 'did' (for past simple)
- 'be' or 'have' (for continuous and perfect tenses)
Step 2: Add 'not' after the auxiliary verb
Place the word 'not' immediately after the helping verb you have chosen.
Step 3: Keep the same tense
Make sure the tense of your negative sentence matches the tense of the original positive sentence. The auxiliary verb carries the tense information.
Step 4: Adjust the main verb form
Change your main verb to its base form (the infinitive without 'to') when using do/does/did.
Formation Example: Present Tense with Third-Person Singular
- Positive: She understands the topic.
- Negative: She does not understand the topic.
Notice how 'does' carries the present tense and third-person singular marker, whilst 'understand' returns to its base form.
Rules for forming negative sentences
Using auxiliary verbs
Auxiliary verbs (or helping verbs) are essential for creating negative sentences in English. The three main auxiliary verbs are 'do', 'be', and 'have'. These verbs work together with 'not' to form the negative.
For present simple and past simple tenses:
- Use 'do' for present tense with I, you, we, they
- Use 'does' for present tense with he, she, it
- Use 'did' for past tense with all subjects
The auxiliary verb you choose depends on the subject of your sentence and the tense you are using.
The auxiliary verb is crucial for creating the negative meaning. Without it, the sentence would be grammatically incorrect. For example, you cannot say "He not belongs to the team" – you must say "He does not belong to the team."
Changing verb forms in negatives
When you use the auxiliary verbs 'do', 'does', or 'did' to form a negative sentence, the main verb must stay in its base form. This is a crucial rule to remember.
The base form is the simplest form of the verb, without any endings like -s, -ed, or -ing. For example:
- Base forms: go, understand, belong, become, fail
Why does this happen?
When you add 'do', 'does', or 'did', these auxiliary verbs already carry the tense and subject information. Therefore, the main verb doesn't need to show tense anymore.
Verb Form Change: Past Simple
- Positive: She became a leader.
- Negative: She did not become a leader.
Notice that 'became' (past tense) changes to 'become' (base form) in the negative sentence. The word 'did' now carries the past tense information.
The third-person singular rule
In the present tense, when your subject is he, she, or it, you use 'does' as the auxiliary verb. An important rule to remember is: when you use 'does', you must drop the -s from the main verb.
In positive present tense sentences, verbs with third-person singular subjects take an -s ending (he walks, she runs, it works). However, in negative sentences, this -s ending disappears because 'does' already shows that the subject is third-person singular.
Common Mistake to Avoid:
A frequent error is writing "He does not understands" – remember that you cannot have both 'does' and the -s ending on the main verb. The correct form is "He does not understand."
Think of it this way: "Does drops the -s" – when you use 'does', the main verb loses its -s ending.
Continuous and perfect tenses
When working with continuous tenses (am/is/are/was/were + verb-ing) or perfect tenses (has/have/had + past participle), the rule is simpler. You only add 'not' after the existing auxiliary verb. You do not need to add 'do', 'does', or 'did'.
In these tenses, there is already an auxiliary verb present in the positive sentence (a form of 'be' for continuous, or a form of 'have' for perfect). Simply place 'not' after this auxiliary verb, and leave everything else unchanged.
The main verb remains in the same form because the auxiliary verb is already present to help form the negative. This makes continuous and perfect negatives easier to form than simple tense negatives.
Examples:
- Present continuous: She is working. → She is not working.
- Present perfect: They have finished. → They have not finished.
Worked examples
Let's look at several examples showing how to convert positive sentences into negative sentences. Pay attention to which auxiliary verb is used and how the main verb changes.
Example 1: Present Simple (Third-Person Singular)
- Positive: The child belongs with her mother.
- Negative: The child does not belong with her mother.
This uses 'does' because the subject ('the child') is third-person singular, and we change 'belongs' to base form 'belong'.
Example 2: Past Simple
- Positive: She became a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
- Negative: She did not become a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
This uses 'did' for past tense, and we change the past tense verb 'became' to base form 'become'.
Example 3: Past Simple
- Positive: Words failed me.
- Negative: Words did not fail me.
We use 'did' for past tense and change the past tense verb 'failed' to base form 'fail'.
Example 4: Present Simple (Third-Person Singular)
- Positive: Robert understands body language very well.
- Negative: Robert does not understand body language very well.
This uses 'does' for the third-person singular subject ('Robert'), and we drop the -s from 'understands' to make it 'understand'.
Example 5: Present Simple (Third-Person Singular)
- Positive: A well-balanced diet excludes vegetables.
- Negative: A well-balanced diet does not exclude vegetables.
We use 'does' for the third-person singular subject ('diet') and change 'excludes' to base form 'exclude'.
Key Points to Remember:
- A negative sentence shows the opposite meaning of a positive statement and requires an auxiliary verb plus 'not'.
- For present and past simple tenses, use do/does/did + not, and always change the main verb to its base form.
- When using 'does' in present tense with he/she/it, remember to drop the -s ending from the main verb (does + understand, NOT does + understands).
- For continuous and perfect tenses, simply add 'not' after the auxiliary verb that's already in the sentence – no other changes needed.
- Always maintain the same tense in your negative sentence as in the original positive sentence – the auxiliary verb carries the tense information.