[etni] "cannot" mostly, "can not" sometimes
- From: David Reid <reidnomad@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 26 Nov 2010 12:59:04 +0200
Hello, Etniers,
The debate about "can not" versus "cannot" misses the point: there are today
two different meanings. (I say "today" because the etymology of "cannot" is
that it came from "can not" around 1400 CE.) The rule follows from the logic
of the construction:
(1a) If the sense of the sentence is that the negation applies to the
following verb rather than to the "can", then "can not" is necessary.
(1b) "Can not" may be used used when the word "not" may be left out to
yield a meaningful and possibly true sentence.
(1c) If one wishes to emphasize the negation, for example in reflecting the
use of a certain intonation that included a pause to emphasize the negation,
then "can not" is acceptable.
(2a) If something is however impossible, then the word "cannot" must be
used.
(2b) If the sentence is dictating that something is impossible, in the sense
of a prohibition or a strict rule, then "cannot" is used.
Examples:
(1) I can not post this if I so choose. ((a)What I am able to do is not to
post this. I am not commenting on my inability to do so. (b) "I can post
this if I so choose." makes sense as well, and might be true.)
(1c) I am going to repeat this only once: you can NOT go outside! (This
wouldn't have the same force as saying "can+not" together.)
(2a) You cannot travel at the speed of light, because you have mass. (Here
the sense of the sentence is your inability to travel at that speed. I am
not saying that you have the ability to not travel the speed of light. "You
can travel the speed of light" is meaningful but necessarily false.)
(2b) You cannot go out to play. (I am going to put conditions that make it
impossible for you to go out: I am forbidding you to do so.)
Also, there are the ambiguous cases.
"I cannot change the world," or "I can not change the world." Hm, matter of
opinion, or what you mean.
Finally, there is something called pragmatics, whether or not the AP has
heard of it. Yes, "cannot" is much, much more common, and if one has to pick
one, then that would be it. As well, in this instance it was probably the
correct choice according to the rules above. But in the real world, both are
used. Putting one's pedantic foot down at the school level to say that only
"cannot" is acceptable is to waste effort that could be used in much more
worthwhile contexts in the English classroom.
David Reid
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