Types of Negation

Negation is a very important part of language. It has many types. These include the use of intonation as well as verbs and affixes.

Verbal negation is very common. Here are examples:

He can't come.
I don't like shopping.
I hope not.

To strengthen the negation of the sentences, the adverb no can also be added. No, he can't come is stronger than He can't come.

Intonation can also express negation. Rising intonation is positive, but falling intonation is negative. Consider the question How is the food? The answer OK is far more positive when it is expressed with rising intonation. If it is expressed with falling intonation, the answer is not so positive.

Affixes also express negation. The following prefixes are negative:

illegible
irresponsible
unkind

The suffix -less also expresses negation. Here are examples:

fearless
hopeless
tasteless

All languages have various types of negation. In English these include negation in verb phrases, morphological affixes and intonation. Another common form of negation is the use of the adverb no.