Which one of these two sentences is written correctly?
- This test data seems to be not good.
- This test data seems to not be good.
Better yet if you could explain as to why the correct form is correct. It would be greatly appreciated.
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2The test data doesn't seem to be good.– Armen ԾիրունյանFeb 7, 2012 at 17:04
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2 Answers
The most natural is:
This test data doesn't seem to be good.
The following two, although not incorrect per se, are less common:
This test data seems to be not good.
This test data seems not to be good.
And the last one sounds rather unnatural:
This test data seems to not be good.
Ngrams confirms it:
I am afraid I can't explain the why part, so I'll leave it to other answers :)
answered Feb 7, 2012 at 17:10
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@GEdgar Are you suggesting there's something wrong with splitting an infinitive? ;-)– PitarouFeb 13, 2012 at 14:08
If it fits the context, I recommend:
The test data seems [to be] no good.
According to Google Ngram Viewer, no good is more common than not good.
And when we add seems to be or seems (NGram), no is much more common.
However, only use no good if the data is of such poor quality that you can't use it. no good has a stronger meaning than not good.
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@ArmenTsirunyan Hmm ... yes ... no good is rather stronger than not good. I'll modify my answer accordingly. Thanks for pointing that out.– PitarouFeb 13, 2012 at 14:43
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+1, there's a fat chance that it actually does fit the OP's context. Feb 13, 2012 at 14:50