Construction—Как бы не...—Why is "не" used?

Question

In Constructions of the type КАК БЫ НЕ..., what exactly does the "не" add to the phrase. I'm looking for a literal interpretation from those of you that know both English and Russian at a very high level. For example— Я боюсь, как бы он не забыл зайти в аптеку. Правительство боится, как бы этот закон не привел к увлечению бюджетных мест. What is a literal translation of these sentences, and why do we need "не" at all?

Answer 1

I

The general idea (expressing negative feelings about something, which could possibly happen in future might have happened in in past):

The main clause needs a meaning that shows such feelings as concern, fear, horror, or worrying. It is often used with the verbs "бояться", "беспокоиться", or the nouns with the same stem or of similar meaning.

Я боюсь, как бы он не опоздал.

As you can see, the verb of the subordinate clause, should be in a perfective form, Past Tense.

In case if the main and the subordinate clauses have the same subject, the verb can be in infinitive form.

In colloquial speech, the main clause can be omitted:

(Я) боюсь, как бы не пошёл снег. - Как бы не пошёл снег!

The literal mirror-like translation is not possible, I am afraid. For example, as to the sentence above, it will be "I am afraid it may start snowing tomorrow.

Your sentences could be translated like that (Maybe someone can translate better, I hope, but this is my version):

I am afraid he may forget to stop by the drug store/he will forget to...

The government is afraid that this law might increase the number of state-funding enrollment .