grammaticality - Why must "not" frequently be paired with "do"?
English questions and negation with do in syntax
I've always wondered why English insists on pairing not with do, when negating an action. For example, you say:
I do not like that coat.
Instead of:
I not like that coat.
When you're not negating, however, there is no need for do (except that it can optionally be used as an intensifier):
I like that coat.
Dictionary.com describes the word not in this contect as an adverb. Shouldn't it be OK just to add it in to the sentence on its own, so that one of the following should be acceptable?:
I not like that coat.
I like not that coat.
Why must do be added before?
Comments
Post a Comment