Which of the following is correct: may not have or may have not? For example, which sentence should one write?
They may not have apples.
They may have not apples.
grammarmodal-verbsnegation
Which of the following is correct: may not have or may have not? For example, which sentence should one write?
They may not have apples.
They may have not apples.
Best Answer
The transposition of 'have' and 'not' is acceptable when 'have' is an auxiliary verb forming the perfect tense with the past participle of another, main verb.
They may not have eaten the apples.
They may have not eaten the apples.
Both these sentences are correct.
However, if 'have' is used to indicate possession of a noun object (in this case 'apples'), then you cannot transpose 'have' and 'not'.
'They may not have apples' is correct, whereas 'they may have not apples' is incorrect.