Saturday, May 12, 2012

negation - "Do you not" vs. "Don't you"



I live in the UK and I mostly hear people saying Don't you..., but some people say: Do you not...? What is the difference and which one is more correct?



You can put any example really. Something like:




Do you not like to come to school with me?
Don't you like to come to school with me?




Answer



Both are correct. What was originally just a contraction of "do not" has become a word in itself, and can now be placed where the two separate words can't.



Both "Don't you..." and "Do you not..." are correct, but you can't re-expand "Don't you..." into "Do not you...".



The meaning of the two are the same, but "Do you not..." is considered more formal in some situations.


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