Negation
What Is It?
Negation flips a clause’s polarity with not, no, never, few, hardly, etc.: Aux + not + V → “Deploy will not start.”
Why Use Negation?
- Accuracy — states what doesn’t happen.
- Clarity — avoids double-positives (“stop failing”).
- Conciseness — one not beats verbose disclaimers.
When to Choose Negation
Status alerts, error messages, requirements (“Do not expose secrets”).
Forming Negated Sentences
| Tense/Aspect | Formula | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | S + do/does + not + V | “Scripts do not run daily.” |
| Present Continuous | S + am/is/are + not + V-ing | “Build is not finishing.” |
| Simple Past | S + did + not + V | “Tests did not pass.” |
| Modal | S + modal + not + V | “Users must not skip MFA.” |
Tips for Writing with Negation
- Place not right after auxiliary.
- Avoid double negatives (“not unimportant”).
- Prefer specific negatives (never, rarely) for nuance.
- Revise long negative clauses into positive if clearer.
Exceptions & Nuances
No negates nouns (“No logs written”). Neither/nor pair for two items (“Neither cache nor DB failed”).