Negation
What is not true or not happening?
Significado
Negation says that something is not true or does not happen. It can reject a whole statement or just one part of it. Languages use negative words, changed verb forms, or both, and some have no separate word like not. Negation expresses the rejection; What a word applies to explains which part of the message a word such as not affects.
Como identificar
Look for the word, word form, or combination that denies something, and check exactly what is being denied.
Na tua língua materna
Não usually comes before the verb, including a helping verb. Words such as ninguém and nada normally combine with não when they follow the verb, but normally stand without it before the verb. Informal speech also allows a second não at the end of a denial.
Hoje não vou cozinhar.
Não achei nada na geladeira.
Não and nada work together to express one negative statement.
Ninguém trouxe açúcar.
Ninguém comes before the verb, so no não is needed.
Na tua língua de aprendizagem
English usually puts not after an auxiliary verb, a helper such as can or do, or after a form of be. With most other verbs, present and past negatives use do, does, or did followed by the unchanged verb. In standard English, nobody and nothing make a statement negative without another not.
Ben doesn't like cheese.
Doesn't carries the negative and the form for Ben; like has no -s.
The store isn't open today.
Isn't is the short form of is not; no do is needed.
Nobody called me.
Nobody makes the statement negative without didn't.
Learners whose language simply puts a negative word before the verb may omit do, does, or did, or keep an ending on the following verb. Learners whose language regularly combines negative words with a negative verb may add an unwanted not with nobody or nothing.