Negatives: not, n't and do-support

Start with be: am not, is not, are not

Put not after am, is or are. Do not add do. Use this pattern before a name, a description or a place. Keep the subject before the verb in a statement.

• I am not your new teacher.
• The cupboard isn't empty.
• Our neighbours aren't at the station.

He's not and he isn't have the same basic meaning. Choose one short form, not both together. In standard English, use I'm not for I am not; do not write I'mn't. A short form is also called a contraction.

For past be, use was not/wasn't with I/he/she/it and were not/weren't with you/we/they. This follows the same not-after-be pattern; see Was and were: the past of be for the full past reference.

• The windows weren't clean yesterday.

Other present simple verbs: don't and doesn't

With a main verb such as live, read or want, use do not or does not. Main verb means the verb that names the action or state. The base form is the dictionary form without to: live, read, want. After do or does, keep that base form.

• I don't collect stamps.
• These shoes don't fit me.
• My cousin doesn't eat cheese.

Does already has the he/she/it form. Do not add -s to the next verb. She doesn't play has play, not plays.

Do can itself be the main verb. He doesn't do the cooking has doesn't to make the negative and do to name the activity. Keep both when you need that meaning.

Past simple: didn't + base verb

Use did not or didn't for every subject. Did carries the past tense. The main verb stays in its base form, even if its ordinary past form is irregular.

• We didn't take the evening train.
• The shop did not open on Monday.

Compare They went upstairs with They didn't go upstairs. Use go after didn't, not went. For past be, use wasn't or weren't instead of didn't be in an ordinary statement.

Short forms and full forms

Short forms are used in everyday speech and informal writing. Full forms are available too; Cambridge describes contractions as usually unsuitable for formal writing. An apostrophe marks missing letters. Do not put a space inside a contraction.

• I can't lift this box.
• The parcel won't arrive today.

Will and the other modal patterns are later extensions. Not every verb has an ordinary n't form: write may not, for example. With be, both She's not waiting and She isn't waiting work; do not combine them as She'sn't waiting.

Already an auxiliary? Put not after the first one

An auxiliary is a helping verb, such as be in is reading or have in has arrived. A modal such as can, will or should also goes before the main verb. Put not after the first auxiliary or modal. Do not add a new do before it.

You do not need the future perfect to begin using negatives. For complete forms, see the tense pages and Auxiliary verbs: be, have and do.

Keep the meaning of each modal. You mustn't enter means entry is forbidden. You don't have to enter means entry is not necessary. They are not two ways to say the same thing; see Have to and must: obligation and Mustn't, don't have to and needn't.

Have: choose the pattern for its job

With have meaning possess, you can use don't/doesn't/didn't have. With have got, put not after have/has. With perfect have before a past participle, put not after have/has too. A past participle is a form such as finished, eaten or taken.

• We don't have a spare key.
• We haven't got a spare key.
• We haven't found the spare key.

The first two describe possession now. The third is a present perfect sentence. Do not insert do before perfect have. British Council also records direct negatives with possession have, such as I haven't enough space. So don't have is a useful pattern, not the only possible possession form. See Have and have got and The present perfect: form and uses.

Telling someone not to do something

A negative imperative is an instruction, request or warning. Use don't or do not before the base verb. Usually you do not state the subject. This also works with be: don't be, not aren't.

• Don't lean on the glass.
• Do not remove this label.
• Don't be impatient with the children.

Cambridge describes full do not in commands as rather formal. For a suggestion including you and the listener, use let's not: Let's not stop here. See Imperatives and let's: instructions, orders and suggestions for the full reference.

No, not and any: different jobs

Use not to make the verb negative. Use no directly before a noun. With a negative verb, any can come before a plural or uncountable noun when you mean none of that thing.

Keep the verb affirmative in the no version for this simple meaning. No is not a replacement for not after a subject: I no want it does not make an ordinary English negative statement.

None replaces a noun rather than standing directly before it. How much glue is left? None is possible, but not none glue. The fuller none/none of patterns have their own page: No, none and none of: nobody, no one, nothing and nowhere.

For the simple meaning zero, use not any rather than not some. This is not a ban on every negative sentence with some: different contexts can give it a different meaning. See Some and any: someone, anything, somewhere and related forms for the full contrast.

Never, nobody and nothing

Never means at no time. With an ordinary present simple main verb, put it before that verb. The main verb still agrees with the subject. With be or an auxiliary, put never after that verb or the first auxiliary.

• My brother never buys magazines.
• The corridor is never dark.
• I have never borrowed that laptop.

Nobody/no one refers to no person; nothing refers to no thing; nowhere refers to no place. Nobody and nothing take a singular verb when they are the subject. You do not need doesn't to make that simple meaning negative.

• Nobody wants the broken chair.
• Nothing moves when I press this button.

If the verb is already negative and you mean no person or no thing, use anyone/anybody or anything: I didn't hear anyone; We couldn't find anything. For these standard patterns, do not add nobody or nothing to repeat the same negative meaning.

Some regional dialects use two or more negative forms together for one negative meaning. This page teaches the standard pattern for that meaning, not a claim that those dialects have no rules. There is also no ban on two negative-looking words anywhere in a sentence: not unhappy has a different structure and means something different from unhappy. Cambridge treats that use separately. See No, none and none of: nobody, no one, nothing and nowhere for more.

What this page does not change

Negative questions have their own order: Isn't the office open? See Negative questions: isn't it, why don't you, didn't you and Echo and reply questions: checking what you heard. Short replies can use just an auxiliary: No, it isn't; see Short answers, so do I, neither do I, and I think so. These are not the same as a full negative statement.

With a to-infinitive or an -ing phrase, you can use not without a new do: I decided not to stay; Thanks for not interrupting. See Verb + to-infinitive: want, decide, forget and Verb + -ing: enjoy, stop, avoid. For fronted negatives such as never with changed word order, see Inversion for emphasis.

What comes next

Use am, is and are: the verb be in the present, The present simple and The past simple for full tense forms. Use Auxiliary verbs: be, have and do for helping verbs, Imperatives and let's: instructions, orders and suggestions for instructions, Some and any: someone, anything, somewhere and related forms and No, none and none of: nobody, no one, nothing and nowhere for negative words, and Negative questions: isn't it, why don't you, didn't you for questions. Each linked page keeps its own review status.