Generate the answer for a given question. The question requires common knowledge of English. Make sure that the answer is in detail, long, consistent with the context, and requires general knowledge of English. To be less repetitive, please vary your language for each question. Give a proper explanation to answer, and if necessary, provide the definition of various terms. And conclude your answer if it's long. If you have used other resources (e.g., Merriam Webster's.) to answer the question, include citations in your answer. You don't need to paraphrase the context of your resources, but make sure that your answer is consistent and complete.

[EX Q]: Is there a specific rule, or set of rules, that can be followed to know when to use each word? I have noticed that not is usually used with a verb, but I think that there sometimes are exceptions although I can't think of one now.
[EX A]: Not is a negative adverb; no is a negative quantifier; non- is a negative prefix. Since negation is so important, thousands of idioms use each of these, among other negatives. Consequently there are lots of exceptions to the general rules below. Non- is not a word, but a part of another word, usually a descriptive adjective: non-lethal, non-professional, non-native, non-technical, non-playing (The hyphen is optional.) Each of these mean 'anything but ...' -- anything that doesn't kill you is non-lethal, anything that's not technical is non-technical, etc. This meaning contrasts with un- and in-, which refer to opposites instead of complements. No is half of the answer pair Yes/No, shading off vocally into Nah, Nuh-uh, and Uh-uh. But it can also quantify and negate any noun phrase: Some blade of grass ~ No blade of grass; One who saw it ~ No one who saw it. Not is the general negator for verb phrases, including predicate adjectives and nouns. In a verb phrase, not occurs immediately after the first auxiliary verb. If there is no auxiliary verb in the verb phrase, Do-Support supplies a form of do. Not is contracted whenever possible, with auxiliaries or subjects (especially pronouns): He's not interested ~ He isn't interested; She doesn't like it, but not *She not likes it. Any of these negatives (and many others) can negate a sentence, changing its truth value. It's easy to switch between them, too; the sentences below all mean the same thing: They allowed no phone calls. They didn't allow phone calls. No one allowed phone calls. Phone calls weren't allowed.

[EX Q]: Does English use the word thou in situations nowadays? For example, to humiliate an opponent by being overly familiar?.
[EX A]: The Only thing I can think of is if a suitor were being extremely formal in a proposal of marriage: Wouldst thou do me the honor.... It might also be used in a light teasing manner, pretending to be formal. For instance, asking someone to dance. Pretty much all personal instances I can think of using thou have been teasing or joking. Example, shouting 'Thou hast brought dishonor upon this family!' at your brother for spilling the orange juice.

[EX Q]: I've been looking around the Internet. Some websites say that foods is incorrect but others say it is correct.
[EX A]:
Food in its commonest sense is a non-countable noun, with all the effects of that. It's already a plural. You would eat 'some food' not 'a food'. You would say 'less food' not 'fewer foods'. However, there is a less common usage where 'a food' means 'a type of food': 'Cheese is a food made from milk' ... and in this form, you can pluralise it ... 'Italy is the source of many delicious foods -- pizza, pasta, salami, biscotti...' For comparison, think of 'a people' - Are there meta-plurals beyond 'peoples'?