How to Use TO NOT and NOT TO Basic English Grammar Ask Alisha
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Episode 20, start.
Hi, everybody.
Welcome back to Ask Alisha, the weekly series
where you ask me questions and I answer them,
maybe.
First question this week comes from Dave.
Hi, Dave.
“Some people use ‘lol’ on the internet.
What does it mean?”
Yeah, ‘lol’ can mean laugh out loud or
lots of laughs.
I’ve heard both.
But, either way, we use this expression to
quickly explain we thought something was funny,
“lol.”
Next question comes from Havel.
Hi, Havel.
Havel says, “Hey, Alisha.
Please tell us about the difference between
‘to not’ and ‘not to’ As in, ‘I
want to not’ and ‘I want not,’ for example.”
Uh, yeah.
So, with these, there’s not really a difference
between these.
Like, “I want not to” and “I want to
not do something.”
Both of these are casual ways of explaining
a negative in speech.
The correct sentence would be, “I don’t
want to do something,” but native speakers
sometimes like to kind of play with grammar
a little bit, that’s one reason they might
use this pattern, either of these patterns
really.
Also, sometimes we start a sentence and we
make it positive like, “I want to…”
and then, we realize part of the way into
the sentence, “Oh, wait.
I want to express something negative.”
So, we change it to “to not” or “not
to” So, “I want not to blah, blah, blah,”
or “I want to not blah, blah, blah.”
Both are okay but just keep in mind that we
use that “I want not to” or “I want
to not blah, blah, blah,” in casual situations.
We don’t generally use these in formal situations.
Instead, we use, “I don’t want to blah,
blah, blah.”
“I want to not get in trouble,” “I want
not to get in trouble.”
The correct sentence here would be “I don’t
want to get in trouble.”
But, you’ll hear native speakers do this for
a number of reasons so there’s not really
a difference between these two.
But, you will hear both of those used by native
speakers.
I hope that helps.
Thanks for the question.
Next question comes from Sagrid Karakilar.
I am sorry.
“Hi, Alisha.
Can I use ‘though’ instead of ‘nevertheless?’
It looks as if their meanings are the same.”
Thank you.
This is a great question.
“Though” and “nevertheless,” yes,
while they do have similar meanings sometimes,
they have different grammatical functions.
So, “nevertheless” means in spite of the
thing that was said before or despite the
prior thing.
“Nevertheless” is used only as an adverb.
“Though,” however, can be used as an adverb,
yes, but it can also be used as a conjunction.
“Though” can also mean “nevertheless”
or “in spite of,” however, it also sometimes
just has the meaning of “but.”
“Though I almost ran out of time, I finished
the test with a perfect score.”
“He told me he would call at 8:00.
Though, it’s 8:15 and I haven’t heard from
him.”
“I almost ran out of time.
Nevertheless, I finished the test with a perfect
score.”
“Her proposal was rejected.
Nevertheless, she continued with her research.”
Hope that that helps answer your question,
though.
Thanks for the question.
Awesome one.
Next question comes from Marcus Cordia.
Hi, Marcos.
Marcos says, “Alisha, help!”
Well, here it comes.
“Do the words ‘weather’ and ‘whether’
have the same pronunciation?
And, does ‘whether’ have the same sense
of ‘if?’
Could you use it in some examples?
Please, reply.”
Yes, you’re correct.
Thanks, Marcos.
“Weather,” as in like clouds, sunlight,
rain, snow, wind.
“Weather” and “whether,” W-H-E-T-H-E-R,
they have the same pronunciation, yes.
And the W-H form does contain the meaning
of “if,” as in, “whether or not something.”
So, native speakers will often say, “Whether
or not” but we can reduce this to “if.”
Some examples, “He hasn’t decided whether
or not he’s coming to dinner.”
“I don’t know whether or not I’m going to
travel this summer.”
“Do you know whether or not your parents
are at home?”
In each of these sentences, we could change
“whether or not” to “if.”
I hope that that answers your question, Marcos.
Thanks.
Next question!
Next question comes from Kisavah.
Hi, again.
Kisavah says, “What’s the difference between
‘bored with’ and ‘bored by?’”
Great question.
There’s no difference, actually.
“Bored with” and “bored by,” also,
we use “bored of.”
These are all used in the same way to explain
something that causes us to feel bored.
“I’m so bored by this lesson.”
“I’m so bored with this textbook.”
“I’m so bored of you.”
So, we can use all of these in the same way.
You might find that some people have personal
preferences for which one they choose to use,
but we use them all in the same way.
Nice question though.
Next question comes from Paul.
Hi, Paul.
“’Let me ask a question’ or ‘Lemme
ask a question,’ which is the correct sentence?”
Both of these are actually correct.
“Lemme” is the reduced form of “let
me.”
We use this in more casual situations.
“Let me ask a question,” is fine too.
It just sounds more formal.
And, when we reduce the sounds, actually,
it sounds a little more natural.
So, “Let me ask you a question,” “Lemme
ask you a question,” that’s fine to use
in speech.
In writing, however, L-E-M-M-E looks very
casual so we typically don’t use that in formal
writing.
But, both of them are actually correct.
Okay, so, those are all the questions that
I want to answer for this week.
Thank you so much for sending your questions,
as always.
Remember, you can send your questions to me
at EnglishClass101.com/ask-alisha.
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Thanks very much for watching this episode
of Ask Alisha and I will see you again next week.
Bye.