“Cannot” is a word that is commonly debated over. A very common Google search is “Is cannot one word or two?”. Is there a right answer? Should cannot be spelled in one word or in two?
Cannot can be spelled either cannot or can not. However, cannot is far more popular and is the recommended spelling. Although both are grammatically correct, cannot is more natural and flows better. You can also use the contraction “can’t” as an alternative, just keep in mind that contractions are informal.
The rest of this article will cover how to spell cannot and how to use cannot in a sentence.
How To Spell Cannot
Cannot can be spelled either as one word or as two. The more common spelling is “cannot” while “can not” is rare. Whether you’re using it in informal or formal situations, both spellings are correct.
You can also use “can’t” as an alternative. The only issue is that “can’t” can only be used in informal environments. Contractions like “can’t”, “won’t”, and “I’m” are informal. For example, if you are writing an essay, your professor will tell you not to use contractions.
There is no difference between the spelling “cannot” and the spelling “can not”. Both spellings mean the same thing. For example, if you were to say “I cannot see my forehead”, saying it as “I can not see my forehead” means the same exact thing.
To keep it simple, use “cannot” in formal situations and “can’t” or “cannot” in informal situations. Since “cannot” is far more common, it will be easier to remember if you spell it as one word rather than two.
How To Use Cannot In A Sentence
“Cannot” is an extremely common word. Thanks to this, there are countless sentences you can use “cannot” in.
Here are some examples of “cannot” in a sentence:
- “You cannot touch that.”
- “This cannot be happening to me.”
- “The essay guidelines say you cannot use contractions.”
For comparison, here are the same sentences but with “can not” instead of “cannot”:
- “You can not touch that.”
- “This can not be happening to me.”
- “The essay guidelines say you can not use contractions.”
Notice how the sentence’s meaning does not change based on how you spell “cannot”. You can also change “cannot” to “can’t” to make the sentence flow more smoothly.
Here are the same sentences but with “can’t” instead of “cannot”:
- “You can’t touch that.”
- “This can’t be happening to me.”
- “The essay guidelines say you can’t use contractions.”
