explain why the negation of an if then statement can not be an if then statement

Perhaps a Truth Table might shed some light on this.  Below is a TT for "if p, then q."

p. q. if p, then q.

T.  T.  T.

T.  F.  F.  [note this case.  "if T, then F" = F.]

F.  T.  T.

F.  F.  T.

Notice that an implication "if p, then q" is only F when then premise, p, is T and the conclusion, q, is F.

This is also the only case the negation of an implication is T.

So considering this, we see that a negation of an "if-then", being true in only one case, cannot also be an "if-then", which is T in three cases.

Incidently, the negation of "if p, then q" is "p and (not q)."

Hope that helps.

The negation of an if/then statement cannot be an if/then statement because the negation is a selection, or choice, whereas an if/then statement is conditional. The if/then statement merely states a causal relation between two possibilities but it does not guarantee the outcome or actuality of these possibilities. For example, "if A, then B" means that if it is true that A is, then B is too; however, it does not establish that A is or B is. The negation of this if/then statement, "A, but not B," is a negation in the sense that it is an outcome which establishes that B does not necessarily follow from A, or, in other words, it proves that the relation stated in the if/then statement is false.