The word not is usually found in the middle of a verb phrase.
Mary did not wash the dishes.
When we ask someone to find the verb in that sentence, they will often say did not wash is the verb.
However, the word not is not a verb. The word not is an adverb. The actual verb in that sentence is did wash. The adverb not tells more about how Mary washed the dishes. She washed them not.
The adverb not is also often used as part of a contraction.
Bob didn’t finish his homework.
The contraction didn’t is actually the two words did not.
If we were to rewrite the sentence, it would say Bob did not finish his homework.
The word did is part of the verb phrase did finish. The word not (or n’t) is an adverb.
How did Bob finish his homework? He did finish his homework not.
The word not is an adverb telling how something is done. The word not is not a verb.
▶It’s your turn. Find the two adverbs in this sentence. Bob walked quickly, but he couldn’t run. Did you find both adverbs? Good for you.