Negation

This frame models the semantic contribution of negation, in which the profiled content of the Negated_proposition is asserted to contrast incompatibly with a corresponding Factual_situation, which is normally implicit. The Negated_proposition and the Factual_situation share non-focal content, on the basis of which they correspond, and contrast in a subset of their content, the focal content, established with reference to a set of focus constructions not described here. (The focus of negation is often conveyed intonationally in spoken English; in text, however, negative focus must be derived inferentially from contextual reference. A subset of focus constructions will be annotated in the constructicon.) While the semantics of negation are quite different from the semantics belonging to most frames, at a minimum, our modeling of the concept using frame semantic tools can be viewed as a practical attempt to label a problem and annotate examples that may inform further research. Negation can be evoked verbally (analytic or synthetic) or nominally. Negators include "not", "no", "never", and negational affixes, such as those used on inflected verbs in synthetic verbal negation (wasn't, isn't, haven't). It 's not far from here . INI She 's not smart , she 's sly .