From practice, we know that the greatest difficulty in writing is caused by the choice of writing “not” with different parts of speech. Let us consider in detail one of the specific cases - writing "not" with nouns. Firstly, we find out exactly how this negative particle can be written with an independent part of speech.
There are only two versions - either it is written separately, or together, being part of the word itself, its morpheme, acts as a prefix (the unit of morphemic facing the root).
In order to decide on the task of “spelling“ not ”with nouns,” you need to know the difference in the categories of the most mentioned part of speech, since this greatly affects the choice - together or all the same!
A noun includes a huge number of word forms, different in semantics, and grammatical characteristics. Words that have a common semantic orientation and functionally serve to express a certain range of phenomena fall into one category and comprise a lexical and grammatical category. In connection with the considered rule of writing "not" with nouns, we are interested in such a kind as concrete and abstract concepts.
They differ in the ratio of designated words to reality. Concrete nouns are characterized by what they mean objects, phenomena, represented in our actual reality. Simply put, these are words-names that exist specifically, and they (at least theoretically) can be touched, imagine their appearance, characterized by properties. For example: elephant, pen, paper, wall, ring, birch, window, bear, plant, snow.
Such nouns are most often characterized by numerical pairs (road - roads, flower - flowers). Abstract nouns are words that designate not so much objects as abstract phenomena and concepts of reality. For example: honesty, faith, kindness, courage, height, swimming, grief, meeting, sincerity, memory, feat, responsibility. As a rule, they do not have correlative numerical forms, that is, they are in the singular or only in the plural.
Returning to the topic of writing “not” with nouns and relying on the above material, we remember the first rule: “not” with specific objects, objects should be written separately (not a chair, not a suitcase, not a wolf, not a hut, not an acacia). And with the abstract row of this part of speech - both together, and separately. Together we will write in such cases:
- if it is impossible to use the word without a negative particle (malfunction, defect, shortage, absurdity);
- if there are options to replace a lexeme with a “not” expression or concept with a similar meaning (lack of education - lack of education, enemy - enemy, failure - failure).
Separate cases of writing "not" with nouns:
- when two homogeneous members are opposed in the context , and this opposition is formally expressed by the union “a” (not joy, but trouble; not success, but failure);
- if the denial is logically emphasized by combinations of words: not at all, not at all, not at all, far from, absolutely not, etc. (by no means courage, not inventiveness at all).
So, remembering this simple algorithm, in the future, with a detailed study of writing the negative particle “not” with nouns, as well as with adjectives, participles and adverbs, we will be able to navigate much faster and not make mistakes.