【안、-지 않다】Expressing “do not” in negative sentences.

Once you are able to express actions and states with “-ㅂ니다/습니다”, you challenge use it in negative sentences.

This is another super-important grammar that must be mastered.

How to use “안、-지 않다”.

Negating verbs and adjectives.

We use -이/가 아니다 for negative sentences of nouns, but an is used for negative sentences of verbs and adjectives.

안 is an abbreviation of 아니, meaning opposite.

안 is combined with a verb or adjective to express the nuance of “not”.

There are two types of sentences for 안.

There are two types of uses for the negative sentence of 안.

You will use short negative sentence expressed with -안, and long sentence with -지 않다.

The short sentence

오늘은 학교에 안 갑니다.
I’m not going to school today.
(가다)

지영씨랑 수영씨는 안 옵니다.
Jiyoung and Sooyoung are not coming.
(오다)

정말 커피를 안 마십니까?
You really don’t drink coffee?
(마시다)

난 집에서 TV를 안 봅니다.
I don’t watch TV at home.
(보다)

While it is easy to use because you only need to place an 안, it has the drawback that it cannot be combined with some vocabulary.

The long sentence

이거는 그렇게 싸지 않습니다.
This is not so cheap.
(싸다)

늦게까지는 기다리지 않습니다.
I don’t wait until late.
(기다리다)

오늘은 하나도 춥지 않습니다.
Not cold at all today.
(춥다)

이거는 무겁지 않습니까?
Is this not heavy?
(무겁다)

-지 않다 is a negative sentence that can be used for any verbs and adjectives, although the sentence is longer.

Things to watch out for in negative sentences and common mistakes.

The “안” is not attached.

The short negative sentence in 안 means that you should not add a verb or adjective with 안.

전 호박을 안먹습니다.
I don’t eat pumpkin. (x)

전 참외를 안 먹습니다.
I don’t eat Oriental Melon. (o)

An 안 먹다, not 안 먹다.

Some people tend to write ‘안갑니다’, but be careful.

안 cannot be used for “~하다”.

The basic rule is that you cannot use 안 for “~하다.”

내일은 안 운동합니다.
I will not exercise tomorrow. (×)

난 저녁에는 안 식사합니다.
I don’t eat in the evenings. (×)

In these cases, use a long negative sentence.

내일은 운동하지 않습니다.
I don’t eat in the evenings. (ㅇ)

난 아침에는 식사하지 않습니다.
I don’t eat in the morning. (ㅇ)

Remember to use “-지 않다” for negative sentence of ‘~하다’.

You should be able to use both types of negative sentence.