Subject + auxiliary verb (do, have, or be) + not + main verb + object or complement.
For example:
With a regular verb: “I do not like him.”
With the perfect tense: “I have not liked him.”
With the verb be: “I am not a hero.”
Notice a couple of important things:
The auxiliary comes before “not.”
The main verb stays in its base form unless it is be, in which case the verb itself is negated.
There’s a twist — other words like never, hardly, rarely, or seldom can also make a sentence negative. For example:
“I never go to that restaurant.”
Sometimes, using these words triggers inversion, where the auxiliary or be-verb comes before the subject for emphasis:
Normal: “I have never seen that movie.”
Inverted for emphasis: “Never have I seen that movie.”
These are the 10 questions we will work on today:
(Official ETS Teacher Resource 2)
1. Are you going to the concert tonight?
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ music.
do / kind / of / that / not / like / I
2. Did you enjoy the book I lent you?
I did not _____ _____ _____ _____ .
find / to be / was / very engaging / the story
3. The latest marketing campaign was a tremendous success!
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ can be.
realized / I / never / too / social media / how / effective
4. Why was Martha talking to the owner of the garden shop?
She wanted _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ .
planting / some flowers / start / when / to know / to / so
5. Evan said you have a question for me.
I’d like _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ .
to know / where / because / the programming job / you / about / found out
6. What did you think of the movie?
In _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ .
was / very / my opinion / it / not / entertaining
7. Do you want to try the new recipe I found?
No, I _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ .
at cooking / am / good / not / complex dishes
8. Have you finished reading the novel?
_____ _____ _____ _____ yet.
reached / I / the last chapter / already / haven't
9. Will you attend the seminar tomorrow?
I _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ .
have / topic / interest / in / that / no / not
10. Did you buy the groceries I asked for?
The store _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ .
not / did / have / everything / on / none / the list
Now, let’s tackle each question step by step.