>
>
>I read Speijer's Sanskrit Syntax 401, find that 'na'
>sometimes could negative only single words, which are
>usually put just after 'na', not the whole statement.
>Does this apply to Pali too? How do we know when na
>negatives single words and when the whole statement?
>just by context?
>I very much appreciate any comment.
>

Dear Tzung-Kuen and group,

Interesting question. I mostly rely on context to determine the scope of negation, but there may very well be some patterns of word order that play a role as well.

An interesting piece of the puzzle is that sometimes negating a single word and negating the whole statement amount to the same thing. I'm thinking of cases where the word 'na' negates the finite verb. By negating the main verbal action you effectively negate the sentence as a whole.

I'll keep an eye peeled for interesting examples of negation. And maybe someone has a fuller answer to the question.

best regards,

/Rett