Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
Note: 'Not' is often shortened to 'n’t' in spoken English, and added to the auxiliary or modal verb. For example, ‘did ~’ is often shortened to ‘didn’t’.
1.
You use ~ with verbs to form negative statements.
The sanctions are ~ working the way they were intended...
I was ~ in Britain at the time...
There are many things you won’t understand here...
I don’t trust my father anymore.
NEG
2.
You use ~ to form questions to which you expect the answer ‘yes’.
Haven’t they got enough problems there already?...
Didn’t I see you at the party last week?...
Didn’t you just love the Waltons?
NEG
3.
You use ~, usually in the form n’t, in questions which imply that someone should have done something, or to express surprise that something is ~ the case.
Why didn’t you do it months ago?...
Hasn’t anyone ever kissed you before?...
Shouldn’t you have gone further?...
NEG
4.
You use ~, usually in the form n’t, in question tags after a positive statement.
‘It’s a nice piece of jewellery though, isn’t it?’...
I’ve been a great husband, haven’t I?...
NEG
5.
You use ~, usually in the form n’t, in polite suggestions.
Actually we do have a position in mind. Why don’t you fill out our application?...
Couldn’t they send it by train?
NEG politeness
6.
You use ~ to represent the negative of a word, group, or clause that has just been used.
‘Have you found Paula?’—‘I’m afraid ~, Kate.’...
At first I really didn’t care whether he came or ~.
NEG
7.
You can use ~ in front of ‘all’ or ‘every’ when you want to say something that applies only to some members of the group that you are talking about.
Not all the money, to put it mildly, has been used wisely...
Not every applicant had a degree.
NEG
8.
If something is ~ always the case, you mean that sometimes it is the case and sometimes it is ~.
She couldn’t always afford a babysitter...
The life of an FBI agent wasn’t always as glamorous as people thought.
NEG
9.
You can use ~ or ~ even in front of ‘a’ or ‘one’ to emphasize that there is none at all of what is being mentioned.
The houses are beautiful, but there’s no shop, ~ even a pub to go into...
I sent report after report. But ~ one word was published...
NEG emphasis
10.
You can use ~ in front of a word referring to a distance, length of time, or other amount to say that the actual distance, time, or amount is less than the one mentioned.
The tug crossed our stern ~ fifty yards away...
They were here ~ five minutes ago!
NEG: NEG amount
11.
You use ~ when you are contrasting something that is true with something that is untrue. You use this especially to indicate that people might think that the untrue statement is true.
He has his place in the Asian team ~ because he is white but because he is good...
Training is an investment ~ a cost...
NEG
12.
You use ~ in expressions such as ‘~ only’, ‘~ just’, and ‘~ simply’ to emphasize that something is true, but it is ~ the whole truth.
These movies were ~ only making money; they were also perceived to be original...
There is always a ‘black market’ ~ just in Britain but in Europe as a whole...
NEG emphasis
13.
You use ~ that to introduce a negative clause that contradicts something that the previous statement implies.
His death took me a year to get over; ~ that you’re ever really over it...
PHRASE
14.
Not at all is an emphatic way of saying ‘No’ or of agreeing that the answer to a question is ‘No’.
‘Sorry. I sound like Abby, don’t I?’—‘No. Not at all.’...
‘You don’t think that you’ve betrayed your country.’—‘No I don’t. No, ~ at all.’
CONVENTION emphasis
15.
Not at all is a polite way of acknowledging a person’s thanks.
‘Thank you very much for speaking with us.’—‘Not at all.’
CONVENTION formulae
16.
~ half: see half
if ~: see if
~ least: see least
~ to mention: see mention
~hing if ~: see ~hing
more often than ~: see often