0
English 1b3 Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

I want not to go home.

I wish not to renew my subscription-instead of-I do not wish to renew my subscription.

I want not to go home-instead of-I do not want to go home.

What verbs can have the auxiliary 'do' left out, because there are verbs, such as the one below, that cannot:

I feel not angry-instead of-I do not feel angry.

----

Are the constructions above without 'do' the same as the construction using the semiauxiliary 'need'? (although I don't think the above are auxiliaries because bare infinitives follow them)

I need not go home-instead of-I do not need to go home.

Thanks
  

Top answer

They all sound 19th century to me.

— Mister Micawber

  • They all sound 19th century to me.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

5 Answers
0
They all sound 19th century to me.
0
0
English 1b3Are the constructions above without 'do' the same as the construction using the semiauxiliary 'need'?
They can't be the same. They use different verbs. wish and want aren't semi-auxiliaries. need is. The position of not is the same relative to the verb, however, so in that way they are the same. It's just a matter of
0
0
I mean more to ask how are these used?

Need is an auxliary, so I understand why 'did' is removed and the shorter, more common in Bre, version is created.

But what are these other forms examples of then? I mean it seems to work only with some verbs as well, to add to the confusion
0
0
Mister MicawberThey all sound 19th century to me.

And now, that's at least 110 years ago!
0
0
There may be a few differences between BrE and AmE here. In my usage:

"I wish not to..." is possible in formal English.

"I want not to..." is not common but is possible in a slightly nonstandard way ("I want not to like him, but...").

"I feel not <adjective>..." sounds archaic (or, at best, poetic or highly literary).

"I need not..." is OK but in e
0

Related Questions