This lesson explains one of the very important roles of the verb DO: the formation of negative phrases. Before continuing, review these lessons: Introduction to DO | Negation.
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In English, most negative statements are formed with the negative adverb not. When forming negative statements with not, the auxiliary verb DO is absolutely required with all main verbs except BE and modal verbs.
The verb DO, in negative statements, is an auxiliary verb. In this role, DO is conjugated for person and tense. The main verb remains in the base form. Here are examples in the simple present.
subject | aux. verb |
not | main verb |
noun | incorrect | |
I | do | not | like | bananas. | ||
He | does | not | eat | bananas. | ||
Canada | does | not | grow | bananas. | ||
We | do | not | sell | bananas. |
Note that the adverb not always follows the auxiliary verb DO.
affirmative | negative | incorrect | ||
These birds fly.. | These birds do not fly. | |||
I drink coffee. | I do not drink coffee. | |||
He watches TV. | He does not watch TV. |
Here are examples in the simple past. Note that the simple past is indicated with did. This is true for all grammatical persons.
subject | aux. verb |
not | main verb |
noun | incorrect | |
I | did | not | plant | bananas. | ||
You | did | not | buy | bananas. | ||
They | did | not | import | bananas. |
The auxiliary verb DO is frequently contracted with the negative adverb not. These contractions are very common in spoken and written English – see contractions with DO.
Special note: Some English speakers form negative statements with the verb HAVE and the adverb not without using the auxiliary verb DO. However, in American English it is much more common to use DO.
without DO | American English (with DO) | |
John hasn’t any brothers. | John does not (doesn’t) have any brothers. | |
We haven’t time. | We do not (don’t) have time. | |
He hadn’t a care in the world. | He did not (didn’t) have a care in the world. |
Note that in the form without the auxiliary verb DO, the verb HAVE is always contracted with the adverb not.
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Related Lessons: