this post was submitted on 31 Mar 2024
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English usage and grammar

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Can "n't " and " + [pronoun]" be used with any verb? (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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When I first learnt English, I thought this type of formulation only worked with a few verbs like "do", "have","should" (ex: "Should I do this? No, I shouldn't.")

More recently I also encountered "Need I?" and "needn't", tho they're more rarely used. But this got me wondering, is it still an exceptional construction, with "need" being one of the exceptions, or can it be done with every verbs? For example, are the following sentences correct:

  • Read you mangas? No, I readn't them.
  • Grow they potatoes? No, they grown't these.
  • Sounds it like a good idea? No, it soundsn't.

I know talking like this would raise a few eyebrows, but does it break any established rule?

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[โ€“] Piatro 5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I'm no linguist but it's all basically unwritten rules and conventions and the examples you gave are wrong in the sense that they break other rules. For example noone asks "read you manga", they say "Do you read manga?" In which case "I don't" is fine, but "I readn't" isn't. In short it can't be done with every verb, and as a native speaker I'm not aware of an explicit rule that governs which verbs can and can't have contractions.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Linguists have identified many of the rules used by native speakers including this one. It can make for interesting reading.