"Not" before verb in a simple tense
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2010 6:11 pm
I was thinking about the old phrase used to describe a cup of tea: "The cup that cheers but not inebriates". It struck me that the grammar of this phrase is rather odd. We don't usually put "not" before a verb in a simple tense in the indicative mood; we would normally say "does not inebriate".
[Note: We do of course put "not" between an auxiliary verb and a participle (he has not arrived; I am not going) and between a modal verb and an infinitive (they could not come; you must not smoke). It is also permissible to put "not" before a simple tense in the subjunctive mood (I insist that he not come).]
Consider the following sentences:
1. Some of the actors sang, not spoke, their lines.
2. This piece of music begins, but not ends, with a loud chord.
3. He stood beside the chair but not sat down.
4. I ran, not walked.
5. I not walked but ran.
Which of the above sentences do you find acceptable? (3 and 5 seem definitely wrong.) Can anyone formulate a consistent rule stating when "not" can legitimately be used in this way?
[Note: We do of course put "not" between an auxiliary verb and a participle (he has not arrived; I am not going) and between a modal verb and an infinitive (they could not come; you must not smoke). It is also permissible to put "not" before a simple tense in the subjunctive mood (I insist that he not come).]
Consider the following sentences:
1. Some of the actors sang, not spoke, their lines.
2. This piece of music begins, but not ends, with a loud chord.
3. He stood beside the chair but not sat down.
4. I ran, not walked.
5. I not walked but ran.
Which of the above sentences do you find acceptable? (3 and 5 seem definitely wrong.) Can anyone formulate a consistent rule stating when "not" can legitimately be used in this way?