Negation and sentential adverbs

When a clause includes both a sentential adverb and not in sentential function, then not will generally precede the adverb, as in (66). With some sentential adverbs, not must come first, as in not slowly and not geographically. There is, however, contrastive positioning with a meaning difference for certain adverbs. Compare:

(104a) He definitely hadn’t been working (it is clear that he did no work at all)

(104b) He hadn’t definitely been working (it is unclear whether or not he had been working)

(105a) He once didn’t come (he came on every occasion but one)

(105b) He didn’t once come (he never came)

Here not has scope over all that follows in the clause. Such alternative orderings are (deliberately, definitely, probably, usually, obviously, etc.) and with some time adverbs (including always, often, once, again).

If a clause includes an auxiliary, a sentential adverb, and not, then not must come after the auxiliary, but the adverb either precedes auxiliary-plus-not or comes between them; in the latter case, the not is stressed. Thus:

(106a) He probably won’t come

(106b) He will probably ’not come

These two sentences have similar meanings; they differ just in that the negation is emphasized in (106b). (A sequence with the adverb last—as in *He won’t probably come—is scarcely acceptable.)

Not can occur either before or after some adverbs, which have both sentential and manner functions. When one of these adverbs precedes not it is generally in sentential function, and when it follows not it is generally in manner function. This is exemplified in (77) and:

(107a) He really (A) [didn’t (V) do it] (although he had meant to do so)

(107b) He didn’t (A) [really (V) do it] (he only pretended to)

An alternative to (107b) is He didn’t (A) [do it really (O)], with the manner adverb following verb plus object.

Note that not in a main clause may have scope over just that clause, as in (108a), or over the whole sentence, as in (108b).

(108a) Mary [didn’t beat John], because she loves him (she didn’t beat him, and the reason she didn’t is that she loves him)

(108b) Mary [didn’t beat John because she loves him] (she did beat him, but for some other reason)

In speech, these sentences would be distinguished by intonation.

There are a number of sequences of sentential adverb plus not which function as a complex negator. They include:

A number of other complex forms, such as no sooner, behave in a similar way.

These complex negators have two special properties. Firstly, they are unlike simple not in not requiring a preceding auxiliary or do: for example, He not only resigned his job, . . . Indeed, if there is an auxiliary, a complex negator may precede it, as in She never had liked her father-in-law.

Secondly, the complex negator may come at the beginning of a sentence. There must be an auxiliary—or the surrogate auxiliary do—as the immediately following word, between complex negator and subject. For example, Not only did he resign, . . . and Never had she hated anyone more.

A number of sequences of not plus time adverb also show this second property—not always, not often, not once. For example, Not always was he fully honest and Not often did she cheat. However, these sequences do not show the first property of complex negators. That is, when in medial position they require a preceding auxiliary or do. One can say She doesn’t often cheat but not *She not often cheats. And note that such sequences can follow another sentential adverb; for example, He had stupidly [not always] been attending.

There are a number of sentential adverbs which may occur initially followed by an auxiliary or do—hardly, scarcely, barely, seldom, rarely. For example, Hardly had she reached the door, . . . and Seldom does he listen carefully. Since this is a characteristic of negative adverbs—complex negators like not just and negative time adverbs like not always—we can suggest that hardly, seldom and the others have an inherent negative meaning, and it is by virtue of this that they may be used initially. Another criterion is that these adverbs take a positive tag, which is symptomatic for a negative clause; compare John hardly swears, does he? with John often swears, doesn’t he?

There are limited possibilities in English for a normally non-initial element to be placed at the front of a sentence. We mentioned Were Mary to come . . . as an alternative to If Mary were to come . . . Note that the fronted auxiliary (here, were) cannot take with it a following clitic negator. One can say If Mary had not come . . . and If Mary hadn’t come . . . but only Had Mary not come . . . , not (with this sense) *Hadn’t Mary come . . .