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forms of to-infinitive negative

 
 
gtrock
 
Reply Fri 7 Oct, 2016 04:45 am
Hi i really need some help. we're on a huge bet.

original sentence - you don't want to break the faucet, don't you?
modified sentence 1 - you want not to break the faucet, don't you?

I'm sure that modified sentence 1 is quite wrong, but my colleague is also sure that not+to+v is also okay.

I tried to explain it but failed, help me with your generosity.

question 1 - Is modified sentence 1 correct?
question 2 - If incorrect, how can i explain them that it's wrong?
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contrex
 
  1  
Reply Fri 7 Oct, 2016 07:44 am
We formulate questions expecting a "no" answer with a negative question and a positive reinforcer e..g. "You don't want to break the faucet, do you?". If you wished to ask a question expecting a "yes" answer, you could reverse this e.g "You want to not break the faucet, don't you?" However most native speakers would not ask the question in that way.
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contrex
 
  1  
Reply Fri 7 Oct, 2016 07:45 am
Original sentence is wrong, modified sentence is OK
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contrex
 
  1  
Reply Fri 7 Oct, 2016 07:46 am
It is stupid to bet on grammar.
gtrock
 
  1  
Reply Fri 7 Oct, 2016 08:08 am
@contrex,
Oh terrible flaw there... Sorry
The original sentence was " you don't want to break the faucet, do you?
modified sentence was "you want not to break the faucet, don't you?

I knew that tag questions were wrong.
Let's talk about this part.

#1 I want not to break the faucet
#2 I want to not break the faucet.

Question. are #1 and #2 grammatically okay???
I don't think so....

I know that any native eng users would find those sentences weird.
but I want to know a way to explain why.
I just told everyone that "I don't want to break the faucet" is correct negative form sentence.

When can we use 'not+to+V' or 'to+not+V' ?
and when we can't?

thanks for your attention. I really appreciate.
and that bet thing was just for a bottle of beer, don't worry. thanks
contrex
 
  1  
Reply Fri 7 Oct, 2016 02:44 pm
@gtrock,
We use the negative form e.g. I don't want to burn the toast, when we are focussing on avoiding an undesirable outcome (something happening) (burning the toast in this case). Now consider these:

1. I want to speak to Mr Smith at the meeting.
2. I don't want to not speak to Mr Smith at the meeting.
3. I don't want not to speak to Mr Smith at the meeting.

1. expresses a desire for something to happen; 2 and 3 express a desire to avoid something happening (e.g. showing disrespect to Mr Smith).
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