Can’t, Shouldn’t, and Won’t

The most common words that we put to complete a sentence are the words that we call Auxiliary Verbs. These are verbs that form the tenses, moods, and voices of other verbs. Auxiliary Verbs are popularly known as helping verbs, the common auxiliary verbs are, have, be, and do.

For example, “The President has arrived.”

We used the main verb “arrive” together with the helping verb “have” to show that the sentence is past tense.

There are twenty-three auxiliary verbs, there are am, is, is, was, and were, being, been, and be, Have, has, had, do, does, did, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must, can and could. The 23 auxiliary verbs given are all positive auxiliary verbs.

How can we make an auxiliary verb negative?

Simply, put “not” after the auxiliary verb.

For example, “I did not follow him.”

Let us highlight the words Can, Should, and Will.

Can, Should, and Will are positive helping verbs. We use “can” if you are able to do something or someone permits you to do something. For example, “I can run fast” or “You can use my phone.”

The helping verb “should” is used when you are obliged to do something or suggest something. For example, “I should do my research” or “You should take a rest now.” The sentences given are suggesting someone do something.

Lastly, we use “will” if you want to express something that you will do later. For example, “I will study later.” The sentence expresses the future tense.

Once we know these positive auxiliary verbs, it will be easy for us to use the negative auxiliary verbs.

Again to make the helping verb negative, put “not” after it.

Let’s focus on the given three helping verbs.

The negative of the helping verb “Can” is “Cannot or Can’t.” For example, “I can’t run fast” or “You can’t use my phone.”

The meaning of the sentence automatically changes.

Next, the negative of “Should” is “Should not” or “Shouldn’t.” For example, “I shouldn’t do my research” or “You shouldn’t take a rest now.” The sentences are now suggesting something that someone should not do.

Lastly, the negative of the helping verb “Will” is “Will not” or “Won’t.” For example,

“I won’t study later.” It expresses what someone will not do later but still expresses future tense.