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Hanuman_2000 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Not

Hello,

He ordered me not to open the book.

I am not able to understand this sentence.

"NOT" has been used without helping verb.

Please explain this type of construction.

Thanks.
  

Top answer

I mean another way of saying the same thing would be, He didn't order me to open the book. Maybe, the use of NOT is for emphasising the action.

— Oliver01

  • I mean another way of saying the same thing would be, He didn't order me to open the book.
  • Maybe, the use of NOT is for emphasising the action.
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4 Answers
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I mean another way of saying the same thing would be, He didn't order me to open the book.

Maybe, the use of NOT is for emphasising the action.
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Hi..Hanuman,
When the sentence "Don't open the book" is reported, it will be "He ordered me not to open the book".

This is how I was taught at school
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He ordered me not to open the book. -- He said to me, "Don't open the book."

He didn't order me to open the book. -- He didn't say "Don't open the book" to me. (Perhaps someone else did, or maybe he told me to do something else.)

This type of construction is very common in English. It's usually used when giving someone advice or an order, or when reporting it to som
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hanuman_2000"NOT" has been used without helping verb.Please explain this type of construction.
That's how you negate an infinitive.

not to open is the negation of to open. In the following two sentences, the speaker was told opposite things.

I was told not to open the window.
I was told to open the window.
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