never

Never is an adverb used to indicate that something does not happen at any time. It derives from Old English næfre, a combination of ne (not) and æfre (ever); cognates appear in other Germanic languages, such as German nie and Dutch nooit. In modern English, never is used to negate verbs across tenses and moods.

In ordinary use, never typically precedes the main verb or follows an auxiliary or modal verb: I never go there. She has never seen the ocean. In questions, the auxiliary can appear before the subject, as in Have you ever been there?, but for negation never is used in the statement: I have never visited Paris.

Standard English generally avoids double negatives, so forms like I do not never go are not considered correct in formal writing. Never also appears in fixed phrases such as never mind and never again, and in emphatic expressions like never ever, which heighten emphasis.

Semantically, never conveys either simple negation (at no time) or strong emphasis and determination, depending on context, tone, and accompanying verbs. It can appear in future-oriented statements (“I will never forget this”) to express resolute negation, as well as in literary or rhetorical constructions (“Never would I have imagined”).

See also: always; ever; not at all; nevermore.