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SSY Jung Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

didn't let ~/not have gone

Dear members

'The theacher didn't let me go to the toilet.'

Can I change the avove sentence like below?

'The teacher let me not have gone to the toilet.'

Thanks
Ssy
  

Top answer

'Let not' is very different from 'not let' Not let = disallow something desired ( the mother did not let the child eat the cake ) Let not = permit someone not to have/do something that may be undesired ( the mother let the child not eat the horrible burnt liver ) d

— Meteorquake

  • 'Let not' is very different from 'not let' Not let = disallow something desired ( the mother did not let the child eat the cake ) Let not = permit someone not to have/do something that may be undesired ( the mother let the child not eat the horrible burnt liver ) d
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2 Answers
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'Let not' is very different from 'not let'

Not let = disallow something desired (the mother did not let the child eat the cake)

Let not = permit someone not to have/do something that may be undesired (the mother let the child not eat the horrible burnt liver)

d
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One should add that where 'not' immediately follows a verb, it's the same as being before it:-

Let not the child eat the cake
= One should not let the child eat the cake

The mother let not the child eat the cake
= The mother would not let the child eat the cake

but where there is a gap, the not goes with what follows -
the m
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