Negation

In Toaq, negation is expressed with bu, which can come before tenses, aspects, or verbs.

Scope

Quantifiers

The scope interactions with quantifiers can be surprising. Remember that quantifiers "float up" to the top of the clause, above bu.

If we want to say "not all those who wander are lost", we might accidentally say:

Bu tıeqbıao tú neqkoı.
∀ neqkoı Bu tıeqbıao néqkoı.
Each wanderer is non-lost. 😱

To get the right meaning, we have to instead say

Bu tıeqbıao sá neqkoı.
∃ neqkoı Bu tıeqbıao néqkoı.
Some wanderers are non-lost.

Or we can use the verb sahu "to be false":

Sahu, ꝡä tıeqbıao tú neqkoı.
Sahu, ∀ neqkoı ꝡä tıeqbıao néqkoı.
It's false that each wanderer is lost.

Tenses

Here is how bu interacts with quantifiers and tenses:

Mala bu chuq tú raı báq nam.
For each X: X has ever not-eaten bread.

Bu mala chuq tú raı báq nam.
For each X: X hasn't ever eaten bread.

Adverbs

bu scopes over adverbs, so you can't say Bu guaı nháo dûo sá joa to mean "he hasn't worked all week." Instead, this sentence means "it's false that he works for a week." See Adverbs are low.

Connectives

Officially, rú is described as joining TPs, but what this actually boils down to is rú joins the highest phrase under a CP. In particular, rú scopes over negation: Bu kıa máq rú lue máq means "It's not red, and it is yellow."