Proofreading Service - Pain in the English
Proofreading Service - Pain in the English

Your Pain Is Our Pleasure

24-Hour Proofreading Service—We proofread your Google Docs or Microsoft Word files. We hate grammatical errors with a passion. Learn More

Proofreading Service - Pain in the English
Proofreading Service - Pain in the English

Your Pain Is Our Pleasure

24-Hour Proofreading Service—We proofread your Google Docs or Microsoft Word files. We hate grammatical errors with a passion. Learn More

Username

PeterY

Member Since

February 22, 2012

Total number of comments

1

Total number of votes received

4

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Latest Comments

cannot vs. can not

  • February 22, 2012, 3:57pm

They are both valid. They do not have quite the same meaning. Think about it. "Cannot" spoken as a single word is just a negation. But "can not" has more force, it is a negation with emotional force because it mirrors the way humans slow down when speaking in anger.

As for "can not" being a contradiction. This is false reasoning. Logically, "can not" means "not can" which is how the logic is expressed in computer languages (and formal logic). Nothing wrong with it.

Also languages are fluid. Sometimes you bend rules to get an effect.