The merged and separate spelling "not" with adjectives: rule

The merged and separate spelling of "not" with adjectives is regulated by a number of rules. Usually the use of this negative particle causes a lot of difficulties not only for schoolchildren, but also for adults. We will try to understand the subtleties and remember the rules further.

Adjective is ...

One of the brightest, colorful parts of speech is considered to be the adjective. It revitalizes our speech, makes it more interesting, diverse. When we want to talk about how a person looks, we can not do without it. Growth, voice, facial expression, color of clothes - all this is expressed in the name of the adjective.

It is also difficult to imagine works of art that would not have used it as a description. For example, the behavior of a person in a given situation is unlikely to do without it.

And even about poetry and say nothing: there is often an adjective. They are used in means of various artistic expressiveness: metaphors, epithets, comparisons.

What is "not" for?

In the sixth grade, students have to study the merging and separate writing of "not" with adjectives. After all, denial with this part of speech gives it an entirely different, special meaning.

Take two examples:

• Man is not at all cheerful.
• He was sad.

With all seemingly common similarities, they have different emotional shades. The second example is usually used in everyday speech, when we tell each other about ordinary events. The first sentence, as a rule, is used by classics in their works. It carries in itself not just information about the state of a person, but a certain zest, mystery.

Denial helps not only to change the meaning of the word to the opposite, but also to give it some color.

Foldable

Throughout the whole process of learning, students repeat the topic "Merge and separate writing" not "with adjectives". Even in primary classes, children learn that this particle, for example, with verbs is always written only separately. Therefore, there are errors in spelling it with other parts of speech. With adjectives, the situation is different.

It should be fused when the word without "no" does not exist. For example: hateful, unattractive . Let's try to drop this particle and get: an angry, an adolescent. Of course, there are no such words in Russian. That's why we are forced to write them together, so that their meaning will not be lost.

The merged spelling of "not" with adjectives is also observed in the case when we can replace the word with this negative particle by a synonym.

For example: Mom returned from the guests unhappy . Try to pick up a similar in meaning the word and get: Mom returned from the guests sad (angry, sad) .

We see that they easily replace each other. This gives us the right to write a particle of "not" with this word together.

Apart

The rule of writing "not" with adjectives is not difficult, just remember some features.

So, separately we will write the word when there is an opposition in the sentence.

For example: The current in the river is not calm, but stormy. Union "a" suggests that in this case, one adjective is opposed to another. This means that they have the opposite meaning. Otherwise, such words in Russian are called antonyms.

Be attentive and focus on the context. In this case, "stormy" and "calm" have opposite meanings.

Do not confuse the union of "a" with a similar in meaning "but". Very often he does not oppose words, but adds information.

For example: Our cat is not pure, but good. This sentence carries the following meaning: although the animal does not have any peculiarities, it is nevertheless very good.

There is no opposition here, the words "thoroughbred" and "good" are not antonyms. In this case, it is also necessary to pay attention to the meaning of the proposal as a whole.

The next case, when separate spelling "not" with adjectives is used, is the presence of auxiliary words "absolutely", "at all", "not at all".

For example:

• The wind outside is not cold at all.
• This man is by no means tall.
• The film was not at all interesting.

In the presence of these "assistants", we will always write this particle only separately.

We will continue to disassemble the writing of "not" with adjectives with the following example:

• The color of the tablecloth was not white.

What do we see? On the one hand, you can replace the word with a synonym, for example, "light". On the other hand, here we mean the opposition: not white, but red or some other color (in this case, the words "white" and "red" are contextual synonyms).

Here is another example of separate writing: if the opposition is meant, then the word "not" can not be written together.

Complex cases

The merged and separate spelling of "not" with adjectives is not limited to the cases listed above. Sometimes there are situations when the word does not fit under any one rule. Let's take an example: Our child is not calmer than his neighbor. On the one hand, we mean an opposition, and on the other, we can choose a synonym. In this case, a double spelling of "not" with adjectives is allowed, that is, both together and separately.

It is worth noting also the use of this particle with short forms.

With them, it will always be written in the same way as with full ones.

For example: an ugly look - an ugly look, a man who is not rich - is not rich (it is understood that he is of moderate means).

Conclusion

We studied the rule of writing "not" with adjectives, tried to touch on the most common cases.

In fact, the nuances are much greater, but they should be considered in each individual case. Now you will not have difficulty when you come across an adjective used with a negative particle "not."