Negation (saying ‘not’)
How to say ‘not / don’t / can’t’ at a basic level.
Core idea
Negation can be a particle (not), a verb form, or both. Start with the most common everyday negative sentence you’ll actually use.
Practice
Turn a positive sentence into a negative one and say both aloud.
- I want X → I don’t want X
- I know → I don’t know
- I can → I can’t