not

From Wiktionary

See also -n't

Contents 1 Pronunciation 1.1 Homophones 2 Adverb 2.1 Usage 3 Conjunction 4 Interjection 5 Related words

[change] Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /nɒt/, SAMPA: /nQt/
• (US) IPA: /nɑt/, SAMPA: /nAt/
•  Audio (UK)^{help, file}
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

[change] Homophones

• knot
• naught / nought (cot-caught merger)

[change] Adverb

Positive not

Comparative none

Superlative none

1. "Not" makes the verb of a sentence have the opposite meaning.

   I was not there.

   I am not fat!

[change] Usage

• In most cases, not is used with auxiliary verbs. It can be used without auxiliary verbs only when the verb it is negating is a participle or infinitive.

[change] Conjunction

Conjunction not

1. The item before "not" is more correct or better than the item after "not".

   I wanted tea, not coffee!

   Meaning: I wanted tea. I did not want cofee.

   It's stupid, not funny.

   Meaning: It is stupid. It is not funny.

[change] Interjection

Interjection not!

1. Used to indicate the sentence before is sarcastic or ironic. This means that the sentence has the opposite meaning.

   I like doing lots of boring homework. Not!

   Meaning: I do not like doing lots of boring homework.

[change] Related words

Words ending in -n't are short ways of writing not after some words. For example, didn't means did not.

ain't, aren't, can't, doesn't, don't, didn't, hadn't, hasn't, haven't, isn't, mightn't, needn't, shan't, shouldn't, wasn't, won't, wouldn't.

cannot, have-not

Some other words used to for negation are:

never, neither, no, & nor