Negation and Questions
Negation of verbs usually takes place with the addition of the particle not (or its shortened form n't) to an auxiliary or copular verb, with do-support being used if there is otherwise no auxiliary. However if a sentence already contains a negative word (never, nothing, etc.), then there is not usually any additional not.
Questions (interrogative constructions) are generally formed using subject–auxiliary inversion, again using do-support if there is otherwise no auxiliary. In negative questions, it is possible to invert with just the auxiliary (should we not help?) or with the contracted negation (shouldn't we help?).
For full details on negation and question formation, see do-support, English auxiliaries and contractions, and the Negation and Questions sections of the English Grammar article.
Read more about this topic: Pluperfect Progressive
Famous quotes containing the words negation and/or questions:
“Friendship, according to Proust, is the negation of that irremediable solitude to which every human being is condemned.”
—Samuel Beckett (1906–1989)
“Do your children view themselves as successes or failures? Are they being encouraged to be inquisitive or passive? Are they afraid to challenge authority and to question assumptions? Do they feel comfortable adapting to change? Are they easily discouraged if they cannot arrive at a solution to a problem? The answers to those questions will give you a better appraisal of their education than any list of courses, grades, or test scores.”
—Lawrence Kutner (20th century)