'not' joining clauses

Question

Hi.He always does what he wants to do, not what he should do.Why is the coordinating conjunction deleted after 'not'?'not' is an adverb and can't function as a conjunction so there should be a semicolon before it-- like conjunctive adverbs.How should one guess which conjunction was left out; for example:He always does what he wants to do, (but) not what he should do.He always does what he wants to do, (and) not what he should do.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Persian LearnerWhy is the coordinating conjunction deleted after 'not'?

A coordinating conjunction connects two independent clauses. It's debatable whether 'not what he should do' is an independent clause as there is so much missing from it that is required to make an independent clause.

Persian LearnerHow should one guess which conjunction was left out

I don't think anything was left out. This is perhaps more sensibly called "a highly contrastive phrase". It's more a question of style than of grammar.

Persian Learner'not' is an adverb ... there should be a semicolon before it

Of the solutions to this problem which exist in English texts, the semicolon is the least common, perhaps (to say it again) because the phrase that starts with 'not' is not an independent clause.

The most common solution (the comma) is given in a little web page I found which sets out the 'rules' of AP Style (the style used by the Associated Press):

Use a comma before not or never when used to show a contrast.
The mistake was made by an editor, not the writer.
I want a career in some area of mass communication, never
at some routine job.

From "AP Style" (Associated Press)
https://newsroom509.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/stylegrammarguides.pdf

Other advice includes 1) using a dash, 2) using parentheses, 3) using no punctuation.

1) The mistake was made by an editor — not the writer.
2) The mistake was made by an editor (not the writer).
3) The mistake was made by an editor not the writer.

I have personally used only the comma and the dash.

Some writers on the topic of punctuation include some final 'although' clauses in the category of highly contrastive phrases. This is an exception to the general principle that we don't separate a dependent clause from the main clause with a comma when the main clause comes first.

We are not meat eaters, although I have eaten chicken.

CJ

'not' joining clauses

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