Negative verb

The term negative verb or negative auxiliary refers to an auxiliary verb whose function is to negate the clause in which it occurs.^[1]^[2] Negative verbs are similar in function to English not and -n't, but unlike English not (which is not a verb)^[1]^[3] a negative verb inflects for agreement with the subject. This can be seen in the following two examples from Finnish. In the affirmative sentence (1) agreement appears on the main verb syödä 'eat'. In the negative sentence (2) agreement appears on the negative verb ei and the main verb appears in a non-finite form.

(1)

Affirmative sentence (Finnish):

sö-i-n

eat-PAST-1SG

omena-n

apple-ACC

'I ate an apple' ^[4]

(2)

Negative sentence (Finnish):

e-n

NEG-1SG

syö-nyt

eat-PTCP

omena-a

apple-PTV

'I did not eat an apple' ^[4]

While the discussion of negative verbs is common in the context of Uralic languages like Finnish, they are known to occur in a variety of language families.^[1] For example, the Tungusic language Uilta (Orok) displays similar behavior to Finnish, only here the negative verb inflects both for subject agreement and tense:

(3)

Affirmative sentence (Uilta):

tari

that

nari

man

ŋene-xe-ni

go-PAST-3SG

'He went' ^[5]

(4)

Negative sentence (Uilta):

tari

that

nari

man

ec-ci-ni

NEG-PAST-3SG

ŋennee

go.PTCP

'He did not go' ^[5]

While not vanishingly rare, negative verbs are a relatively uncommon form of clausal negation in the world's languages. Most languages use some sort of negation particle (such as English not) or a verbal affix (such as the suffix -me in Turkish); still others use a combination two non-verbal markers (so-called double negation).^[1] Each of these three strategies is more common than negative verbs.

The main factor that distinguishes negative verbs from negative particles is that they display the morphological and syntactic properties of verbs.^[1] Thus, a negative verb should conjugate like a verb, displaying, for example, agreement and tense morphology in languages that have these features. They will also appear in syntactic positions associated with verbs. However, the morphology and syntax of some languages will not always make it possible to conclusively distinguish between negative verbs and negative particles.^[1]

Uralic languages

Uralic languages differ from each other in the particulars of negation predicate use but continue to show specific similarities.^[6] For defining different patterns of negation predicates it is necessary to know about the lexical verb (LV) and the finite form (FE). Miestamo defined four types of asymmetry in negation verbs. The first type shows a prominent appearance in Uralic languages. It is defined as A/Fin (A = asymmetry | Fin = finiteness) and describes that influenced by the negation verb, the finiteness of the LV is reduced or lost. For example, the LV loses the finiteness because the clause is marked by the de-verbalizing negative morpheme. Therefore, the copula is added as a type that holds the finite status (FE). In some Uralic languages, speakers produce^{[clarification needed]} connegatives to construct the syntactically acceptable word form used in negative clauses.

Finnish

The standard negation (SN) in the Finnish language is realized by a verbal complex.^[7] First the LV with a non-finite character is formed followed by the finite element which is presented as the negative auxiliary. The root of the auxiliary is 'e-'. The ending gives information about person and number. The marker for tense is not presented on the auxiliary and is only dependent on the clausal context. Therefore, tense is marked on the LV separated from the auxiliary and appears as connegative form in present tense and past participle in past tense.

Negative Verb - Overview for clausal negations

SN in main clauses	- AUX(iliary) 'ei': 'e-' + Person/Number marking - Main verb: connegative or participle - Asymmetric
Non-verbal predicates	SN
Imperatives/Prohibitive sentences	AUX 'äl-' + idiosyncratic Person and mood marking
Negation in dependent clauses	Finite: SN

Indicative, conditional, and potential

Person	Singular	Plural
1.	en	emme
2.	et	ette
3.	ei	eivät

The verb to be negated is inflected in the same way for all these forms: en maalaa "I don't paint", et maalaa, ei maalaa, emme maalaa, ette maalaa, eivät maalaa, from maalata "to paint". This form is the same as for the third person singular. The passive is formed as ei maalata "is not painted".

Imperative

Person	Singular	Plural
1.	-	älkäämme
2.	älä	älkää
3.	älköön	älkööt

The verb to be negated takes the form älä maalaa "do not paint" in the second person singular and the form with -ko in älköön maalatko, älkäämme maalatko, älkäätte maalatko, älkööt maalatko in other persons and numbers. The (rarely used) passive form is älköön maalattako. Colloquial Finnish more likely uses the construction ei saa maalata "it is not allowed to be painted".

Estonian

The Estonian language uses a particle-like non-inflectional negative auxiliary^[8] which is hierarchically presented on a pre-verbal slot. The auxiliary is realized as 'ei'. A special form differs from the SN while forming the connegative in the present tense, in the past form, or in the active past participle. In the Estonian language, the fictional character doesn't seem to be a necessary feature for the negative auxiliary, which differs from other Uralic languages. This is important because the question appears, if the auxiliary has to show a flectional marker even if the LV is not showing any flectional marker without using the negation modus.

Negative Verb - Strategies in clausal negations

Clausal SN; finite: indicative, conditional, evidental	'ei-' (uninflected) + verb in connegative
Prohibitive sentences	'ära' (inflected) + verb in connegative or inflected (variation)
Negation in locative, equative, inclusive, attributive constructions	'ei' (uninflected) + copula in connegative

Indicative, conditional, and oblique

Person	Singular	Plural
1.	ei	ei
2.	ei	ei
3.	ei	ei

Imperative

Person	Singular	Plural
1.	-	ärgem; ärme
2.	ära	ärge
3.	ärgu	ärgu

Skolt Saami

In Skolt Saami the SN shows a negative auxiliary compared with a non-finite LV. For imperative a special case is provided.^[9]

Negative Verb - Summary

SN	- Negation AUX: 'ij' + LV - Negation copula (replaces Positive copula) + verb
Negation of imperatives	Negation AUX + Imperative + verb
Negation of non-verbal predicates	-SN - Negation copula (general stative negator, alternative to SN)
Negation in dependent clauses	- finite: SN - non-finite: verbal abessive

South Saami

In South Saami, the SN is realized by a negative auxiliary. This form is used in present tense and the preterite. The LV is presented as a connegative form. A special case is presented while creating the imperative.^[10] In this case the negative auxiliary gets a full personal paradigm except for the third person 'dual'. The third person in singular in present tense of the negative auxiliary is prohibited as a negative reply.

Negative Verb - Strategies in clausal negations

SN	Negative AUX + connegative verb
Imperative/prohibitive sentences	- Negative AUX 'aell-' (prohibitive) + connegative verb - Negative AUX 'oll-' (apprehensive) + connegative verb
Negation of non-verbal predicates	Negative AUX + connegative verb
Negation in dependent clauses	Negative AUX + connegative verb

Inari Sami

The negative verb is conjugated in moods and personal forms in Inari Sami.

Indicative, conditional, and potential mood

Person	Singular	Dual	Plural
1.	jie´m	eän	ep
2.	jie´h	eppee	eppeđ
3.	ij	eä´vá	eä

Imperative

Person	Singular	Dual	Plural
1.	eällum	eäl´loon	eällup
2.	ele	ellee	elleđ
3.	eä´lus	eällus	eällus

Northern Sami

The negative verb is conjugated in moods and personal forms in Northern Sami.

Indicative, conditional, and potential mood

Person	Singular	Dual	Plural
1.	in	ean	eat
2.	it	eahppi	ehpet
3.	ii	eaba	eai

Imperative

Person	Singular	Dual	Plural
1.	allon	allu	allot
2.	ale	alli	allet
3.	allos	alloska	alloset

Lule Sami

The negative verb is conjugated in moods and personal forms in Lule Sami.

Indicative, conditional, and potential mood

Person	Singular	Dual	Plural
1.	iv	en	ep
2.	i	ähppe	ehpit
3.	ij	äbá	e

Hungarian

Hungarian has lost most evidence of a negative verb, but the negation particle 'nem' becomes 'ne' before verbs in the jussive/imperative (also sometimes called the conditional mood or J-mood). Furthermore, the 3rd person present indicative of the copular verb ('lenni') has unique negative forms 'nincs(en)' and 'nincsenek' as opposed to 'nem van' and 'nem vannak', but only when the particle and verb would occur adjacently. In all other instances, the copular verb acts regularly. These forms are also unique in that they have an existential role "there is (not)" and "there are (not)". In the present indicative 3rd person, copular verbs are not used; rather the absence of a verb (with or without a negation particle) implies the copula.

Komi

In the Komi language, the negative marker and the form of the negative construction are dependent on the clausal tense.^[11] If the corresponding affirmative predicate is based on a verbal form, a negative auxiliary is used. This is not convertible for affirmative verbs with nominal forms. The negative auxiliary is used in present tense, future tense, 1st past tense of indicative, and in the imperative and optative mood.

Negative Verb - Strategies in clausal negations

SN	- present & future tense - 1st past tense - 2nd past tense - 3rd past tense - 4th past tense - 5th past tense - 6th past tense	'o-' + V - Connegative (CNG) 'e-' + V - Connegative 'abu' + V 'veli' + 'o-' + V - Connegative a) 'abu' + 'veli' + V b) 'e-' + 'be' - CNG + V 'velem' + 'o-' + V - CNG 'velem' + 'ab' + V
Negation of imperatives	Imperative (2nd person only) Optative (3rd person only) Conditional (all tenses)	'e-' + V - CNG 'med' + 'o-' + V - CNG '(v)éske(u)' + SN
Negation in dependent/subordinate clauses	- finite subordinate clauses - non-finite subordinate verb forms: i. Infinitives ii. participles iii. converbs	SN 'ńe' + V-infinitive V + 'tem' V + 'teg'

Korean

Korean verbs can be negated by the negative verbs 않다 anta and 못하다 mothada or by the negative adverbs 안 an and 못 mot. The copula 이다 ida has a corresponding negative copula 아니다 anida. (anida is an independent word like anta and mothada, unlike ida which cannot stand on its own and must be attached to a noun.)

Verb	Tense	Affirmative	With a negative verb		With a negative adverb
Verb	Tense	Affirmative	않다 anta	못하다 mothada	안 an	못 mot
가다 gada to go	Nonpast	간다 ganda	가지 않는다 gaji anneunda	가지 못한다 gaji mothanda	안 간다 an ganda	못 간다 mot ganda
가다 gada to go	Past	갔다 gatda	가지 않았다 gaji anatda	가지 못했다 gaji mothaetda	안 갔다 an gatda	못 갔다 mot gatda
먹다 meokda to eat	Nonpast	먹는다 meongneunda	먹지 않는다 meokji anneunda	먹지 못한다 meokji mothanda	안 먹는다 an meongneunda	못 먹는다 mot meongneunda
먹다 meokda to eat	Past	먹었다 meogeotda	먹지 않았다 meokji anatda	먹지 못했다 meokji mothaetda	안 먹었다 an meogeotda	못 먹었다 mot meogeotda

Japanese

nai (ない) can be a verb for negation or a suffix to indicate the negative form of i-adjectives in Japanese.^[12]^{[unreliable source?]}

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Dryer, Matthew S. "Negative Morphemes". The World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
^ Miestamo, Matti (2005). Standard Negation. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. p. 3. ISBN 978-3-11-018579-9.
^ Ernst, Thomas (1992). "The phrase structure of English negation". The Linguistic Review. 9 (2): 109–144. doi:10.1515/tlir.1992.9.2.109.
^ ^a ^b Miestamo, Matti (2005). Standard Negation. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. p. 13. ISBN 978-3-11-018579-9.
^ ^a ^b Tsumagari, Toshiro (2009). "Grammatical Outline of Uilta (Revised)". Journal of the Graduate School of Letters, Hokkaido University. 4: 1–21.
^ Miestamo; Tamm; Wagner-Nagy (2015). "3.2". Negation in Uralic Languages. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company. pp. 13–22. ISBN 9789027206893.
^ Vilkuna, Maria (2015). Negation in Uralic Languages. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company. pp. 457–487. ISBN 9789027206893.
^ Anna, Tamm (2015). Negation in Uralic Languages. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company. pp. 399–433. ISBN 9789027206893.
^ Miestamo, Matti (2015). Negation in Uralic Languages. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company. pp. 353–377. ISBN 9789027206893.
^ Blokland, Rogier (2015). Negation in Uralic Languages. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company. pp. 377–399. ISBN 9789027206893.
^ Hamari, Arja (2015). Negation in Uralic Languages. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company. pp. 239–265. ISBN 9789027206893.
^ "Alex Rockin Japanese". Alex Rockin Japanese. Retrieved 2025-05-22.

[Dryer_NegMorph-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Dryer, Matthew S. "Negative Morphemes". The World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Retrieved 19 December 2025.

[2] Miestamo, Matti (2005). Standard Negation. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. p. 3. ISBN 978-3-11-018579-9.

[3] Ernst, Thomas (1992). "The phrase structure of English negation". The Linguistic Review. 9 (2): 109–144. doi:10.1515/tlir.1992.9.2.109.

[miestamo_apple-4] Miestamo, Matti (2005). Standard Negation. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. p. 13. ISBN 978-3-11-018579-9.

[Tsumagari-5] Tsumagari, Toshiro (2009). "Grammatical Outline of Uilta (Revised)". Journal of the Graduate School of Letters, Hokkaido University. 4: 1–21.

[6] Miestamo; Tamm; Wagner-Nagy (2015). "3.2". Negation in Uralic Languages. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company. pp. 13–22. ISBN 9789027206893.

[7] Vilkuna, Maria (2015). Negation in Uralic Languages. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company. pp. 457–487. ISBN 9789027206893.

[8] Anna, Tamm (2015). Negation in Uralic Languages. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company. pp. 399–433. ISBN 9789027206893.

[9] Miestamo, Matti (2015). Negation in Uralic Languages. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company. pp. 353–377. ISBN 9789027206893.

[10] Blokland, Rogier (2015). Negation in Uralic Languages. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company. pp. 377–399. ISBN 9789027206893.

[11] Hamari, Arja (2015). Negation in Uralic Languages. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company. pp. 239–265. ISBN 9789027206893.

[d839-12] "Alex Rockin Japanese". Alex Rockin Japanese. Retrieved 2025-05-22.

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