Not example sentences
Related (12): no, never, neither, none, nothing, nowhere, negation, denial, refusal, negative, nope, nay
"Not" Example Sentences
Common Phrases
- not at all
- not only...but also
- not necessarily
- not quite
- not really
- not in the least
- not to mention
- not that I know of
- not by a long shot
- not on your life
- certainly not
- probably not
- not likely
- not a chance
Examples by Level
A1
- I like apples, but I do not like oranges.
- She is not at home today.
- This is not my book.
A2
- I was not ready for the test, so I failed it.
- He said he would come, but he did not show up.
- The food was not good, but the service was nice.
B1
- It's not that I don't want to help — I just don't have time right now.
- She seemed confident, but I could tell she was not entirely sure.
- The movie was not what I expected, but I actually enjoyed it more.
B2
- What struck me most was not the scandal itself, but how long everyone had ignored the warning signs.
- He claimed the decision was not personal, yet every choice he made seemed designed to hurt her.
- The problem is not that we lack information — it's that we're drowning in it.
C1
- The irony lies not in what was said, but in the calculated silence that preceded it.
- What made the situation so troubling was not the initial mistake, but the systematic effort to obscure it.
- She understood, perhaps better than anyone, that progress is not a straight line but a series of painful negotiations with the past.
C2
- There's a peculiar kind of wisdom in recognizing what you are not — and the courage required to stop pretending otherwise.
- The tragedy was not that he failed, but that he had internalized the belief that failure was not an option, only a character flaw.
- What distinguishes the truly educated mind is not the accumulation of facts, but the capacity to hold contradiction without collapsing into certainty.
Examples by Scenario
🏠 Everyday Life
- I told my kid not to jump on the couch, but here we are.
- The bus was not on time again — I'm going to be late for work.
- My neighbor said not to worry about the noise, but it kept me up all night.
💼 Workplace
- The meeting was not as bad as I thought it would be, honestly.
- She made it clear that not showing up on time was not acceptable.
- I told him not to send that email, but he did it anyway.
📊 Business
- The product launch was not successful, but the data showed us exactly why.
- Our competitors are not investing in that market segment anymore — we should reconsider.
- The client said the proposal was not what they had in mind, so we're pivoting the strategy.
🛒 Buying / Shopping
- This jacket is not as warm as the description said, and I'm not happy about it.
- The sale price was not actually a sale — I checked the original tag.
- I wanted the blue one, but they said it was not in stock.
✈️ Travel
- The hotel was not pet-friendly like they claimed, which made the whole trip stressful.
- I was not prepared for how cold it would be in the mountains.
- The flight was not delayed, which was honestly shocking given the weather.
📚 Education
- The teacher said not to use Wikipedia, but everyone did anyway.
- My son is not interested in math, no matter how hard we try.
- The assignment was not due until Friday, so I have time to finish it.
❤️ Relationships
- He said he was not angry, but I could feel it in everything he did.
- We agreed not to bring up the past, but it kept creeping into every conversation.
- She was not the person I thought she was, and that hurt more than I expected.
📰 News / Politics
- The official statement was not transparent, and critics are calling for accountability.
- Experts agree that the policy is not addressing the root cause of the problem.
- The senator claimed the allegations were not credible, but new evidence suggests otherwise.
💻 Technology
- The app is not as intuitive as they promised — I'm still figuring out how to use it.
- My phone is not compatible with the new update, which is frustrating.
- The AI chatbot was not able to answer my question, so I had to call customer service.
📝 Formal Writing
- The findings indicate that the hypothesis was not supported by the experimental data.
- It should be noted that the correlation observed was not statistically significant.
- The proposed framework is not without limitations, particularly regarding its application to smaller populations.