Never vs Not - What's the difference?
never | not |
At no time; on no occasion; in no circumstance.
* 1634 , (w), (John Fletcher), , Act 2, Scene 4,
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=1
, passage=In the old days, to my commonplace and unobserving mind, he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned.}}
* 1908 , (Lucy Maud Montgomery), , Chapter XXI: A New Departure in Flavorings,
* 1919 , B. G. Jefferis, J. L. Nichols, ,
Not at any other time; not on any other occasion; not previously.
* 1601 Novenber 30, (Elizabeth I of England), ,
* 1813 , (Jane Austen), , Chapter 4,
* 1908 , (Lucy Maud Montgomery), , Chapter XIII: The Delights of Anticipation,
(colloquial) Negative particle (used to negate verbs in the simple past tense; also used absolutely ).
Negates the meaning of the modified verb.
* 1973 , .
To no degree
And .
Used to indicate that the previous phrase was meant sarcastically or ironically.
Unary logical function NOT, true if input is false, or a gate implementing that negation function.
As adverbs the difference between never and not
is that never is at no time; on no occasion; in no circumstance while not is negates the meaning of the modified verb.As a conjunction not is
and not.As an interjection not is
used to indicate that the previous phrase was meant sarcastically or ironically.As a noun not is
unary logical function NOT, true if input is false, or a gate implementing that negation function.never
English
(wikipedia never)Adverb
(-)- Why should I love this Gentleman? Tis odds / He never will affect me;
- "I never thought you were so fond of Mr. Phillips that you'd require two handkerchiefs to dry your tears just because he was going away," said Marilla.
- Never speak of the symptoms of your patient in his presence, unless questioned by the doctor, whose orders you are always to obey implicitly .
- There is no jewel, be it of never so rich a price, which I set before this jewel: I mean your love.
- "He is just what a young man ought to be," said she, "sensible, good-humoured, lively; and I never saw such happy manners!--so much ease, with such perfect good breeding!"
- I never saw such an infatuated man.
Antonyms
* alwaysDerived terms
* better late than never * I have never * never again * never-ending * never ever * never in a month of Sundays * never mind * nevermore * neverness * never say never * nevertheless * now or never * on the never never * you never knowStatistics
*not
English
(wikipedia not)Adverb
(-)- Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got.
- Did you take out the trash? No, I did not .
- Not knowing any better, I went ahead.
- That is not red; it's orange.
Usage notes
In modern usage, the form do not ...'' (or ''don’t ...'') is preferred to ''... not'' for all but a short list of verbs (is/am/are/was/were, have/has/had, can/could, shall/should, will/would, may/might, need): * They do not''' sow.'' (modern) vs. ''They sow '''not . (KJB) American usage tends to prefer don’t have'' or ''haven’t got'' to ''have not'' or ''haven’t'', except when ''have'' is used as an auxiliary (or in the idiom ''have-not ): * I don’t have a clue'' or ''I haven’t got a clue. (US) * I haven’t a clue'' or ''I haven't got a clue. (outside US) * I haven’t been to Spain. (universal) The verb need is only directly negated when used as an auxiliary, and even this usage is rare in the US. * You don’t need to trouble yourself. (US) * You needn’t trouble yourself. (outside US) * I don’t need any eggs today. (universal) The verb dare can sometimes be directly negated. * I daren't do that.Conjunction
(English Conjunctions)- I wanted a plate of shrimp, not a bucket of chicken.
- He painted the car blue and black, not solid purple.
Usage notes
* The construction “A, not B” is synonymous with the constructions “A, and not B”; “not B, but A”; and “not B, but rather A”.Interjection
not!- I really like hanging out with my little brother watching ''Barney''... not !
- Sure, you're perfect the way you are... not !
Synonyms
* I don't thinkSee also
*Noun
(en noun)- You need a not there to conform with the negative logic of the memory chip.