Question ~ " Was forced not to "

Question

The company admitted it did not call police after learning that a mentally disabled man had allegedly been indecently assaulted by a company janitor, saying the decision was based on a requested from the alleged victim’s family.

The complaint said the family actually wanted to call the police but was forced not to by the company, which was said to have asked the family to sign an agreement that it would not alert the force.

I would like to seek someone assistance to clarify whether the below sentence 1 & 2 is the same meaning or not.

Family was forced not to call police.
Family was forced giving up to call police.

Is it different meaning of the below sentence a & b?

Family was forced not to call police.
Family was not forced to call police.

GPY · Accepted Answer

Ben9108Family was forced giving up to call police.

This is not correct English (even with the necessary articles added as below).

Ben9108 Is it different meaning of the below sentence a & b?Family was forced not to call police.Family was not forced to call police.

1. The family was forced not to call the police.
2. The family was not forced to call the police.

These mean different things. In (1), someone told the family, e.g., "You must not call the police". In (2), nobody told the family, e.g., "You must call the police". The family chose to either call or not call. From this sentence alone we don't know whether they did.

Question ~ " Was forced not to "

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions