有一读者问： not 不可置于不带 to 的不定式之前吗？
not 不可置于不带 to 的不定式（或简称作动词原形）之前，对初学者来说，也许不失为一条规则。但如笼统地不加区别地这样说，就不符合事实了。请先看下列句中的分裂不定式：
(1)There can be nothing to not talk about between you and me, dear mother.
(2)I always figured somebody would come along with the brains to not leave education to a lot of bookworms.
(3)He can order the most god-awful atomic strike, but he cannot order a local cop to not make an arrest.
宾语从句中的现在虚拟式（即动词原形）之前用 not 的情况更是屡见不鲜，如：
(4)They insisted that we not eat meat.
(5)It is essential that this mission not fail .
(6)A US official, speaking on condition he not be identified, said Balaoui took note of Pelletreau's views and told him he would pass them on to PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. （但亦可说 be not）
当然，在英国英语中，上述三例中的 not 之前是常用 should 的。
此外，还有一些其他类似的情况，如：
(7)Let's not speak any more. （当然更常说 Don't let's speak any more.）
(8)I can't not go.
