Negation

I. Complete these sentences with the list of negative words:

Never Anyone Anywhere Rarely Scarcely None No Not Unbelievable Impossible No matter who No matter where

1. He writes poetry and _____ shows it to ______ .

2. It is _____ to park the car ______ .

3. John ______ comes to class on time.

4. She _____ remembers the accident.

5. ________telephones, say I'm out.

6. ________you go, you will find Coca-cola.

7. It's ________ he is ____rich.

8. I waited for comments but ____ came.

9. He has ____ambition.

10. He's_____a very good actor.

11. Try ____to worry.

II. Find out the negative sentences:

1. These students don't like reading novel, much less text book.

2. We had no union, nobody to look after us.

3. You couldn't have gone to the beach on a better day.

4. He couldn't have been more unfriendly when I met him first.

5. I couldn't agree you less.

6. There isn't any explanation for this.

7. It's unbelievable he is not rich

8. None of this has happened without our consent

9. The newcomer was none other than President.

10.That student is no longer a naive child.

Negation

I. Definition:

Negation is - the act or process of negating

- A denial, contradiction, or negative statement

- The opposite or absence of something regarded as actual, positive or affirmative.

II. Forming negative statements:

1. Lexical negation:

a. Negative words:

Here is the list of negative words in English: Neither, nobody, nor, nowhere, never, none, not, no, no one, nothing, without, barely, ever, barely, rarely...

Ex: I almost never go there.

There's no chalk in the drawer.

(never, no expresses a negative idea)

Notes:

-Compare NOT to NO:

Ex: I do not have any money.

I have no money.

Two sentences have the same meaning.

+ Not is used to make a negative verb

+ No is used as an adjective in front of a noun.

-Avoiding double negation:

Ex: I don't have no money. (incorrect)

I don't have any money. (correct)

I have no money. (correct)

+ "I don't have no money" is an example of a " double negation", a confusing and grammatically incorrect sentence that contains two negatives in the same clause. One clause should contain only one negative.

+ However, negatives in 2 different clauses in the same sentence cause no problems, for example:

Ex: A person who doesn't have love can't be happy.

I don't know why he isn't here.

-Beginning a sentence with broad negatives:

Ex: Never will I do that again!

Rarely have I eaten better food.

When a negative word begins a sentence the subject and verb are inverted.

Beginning a sentence with a negative word is relatively uncommon in everyday usage, but is used when the speaker (writer wishes to emphasize the negative element of the sentence and be expressive)

-Almost

Instead of using a broad negative, you can use "almost" followed by a negative word such as "no" or "never"

Ex: There was almost no food left.

(= There was hardly any food left)

b.Negative affixes:

- A prefix such as "un_" or "dis_" can be added to the beginning of some words to give them the opposite meaning.

Ex: It's a small point, but not an unimportant one.

-The suffix "_less" is added to the end of words to give them a negative meaning.

Ex: At last Janet sat down, as she was breathless.

Here is a list of common negative prefixes:

Ex: The footbath was invisible.

She unpacked straightaway.

I disliked change of any kind.

The match was a non-event.

2.Structual negation:

There isn't any negative words but we can find the negative meaning in this sentence.

Ex: The tea is too hot for me to drink it.

3.Implicative negation

III. Emphasizing the negative aspect of a statement:

1.At all

You can add "at all" to a negative statement in order to make it more emphatic. You use "at all" with any negative word, with "without" or with a broad negative.

Ex: She had no writing ability at all.

2.Whatsoever:

-You can put "whatsoever" after "none" and "nothing" in order to emphasize the negative aspect of a statement.

Ex: you don't think he has any change of winning

-If "no" is used as a determiner in a noun group, you can put "whatsoever" after the noun group.

Ex: There is no need whatsoever to teach children how to behave.

-You can also use "whatsoever" in negative stattements which contain "any" or a word which begins with "any"

Ex:I knew I wasn't learning anything whatsoever.

3.Ever

You can put "after negative words in order to emphasize the negative aspect of a statement.

Ex: Nobody ever leaves the airport.

4. Other expressions:

These include "in the least", "the least bit", " in the slightest", and "a bit".

Ex: I don't mind in the least, I really don't.

I don't really really envy you in the slightest.

They're not a bit interested.