English grammar: Syntax
4. NEGATION
4.1. Structural features
4.2. Syntactic features
4.3. Semantic features
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4. Negation
4.1. Structural features
Only 1 negative element
• 2 negative elements (multiple negation) negate each other
Nobody wants nothing.= Everybody wants something.
• 2 negative elements are possible
• In non-standard E (Afro-american, dialects...)
I didn´t do nothing.
• In local negation
She is not unhappy.
I can´t not say that.
• As early as possible
Myslím, že ma nemá rád.
I think he doesn´t like me. (SL interference)
I don´t think he likes me.
(believe, consider, hope, feel, intend, plan, propose, suppose, imagine,
expect, ...
+ perception: appear, seem, feel as if, look as if, sound as if ...) 2
4. Negation
Negation of a clause
• Through verb negation
- not (between the operator and the predicate)
- do not (dummy operator)
- contractions (informal) I´ve not done it.
I haven´t done it.
• Through words negative in form & meaning
(no, none, never, nothing, neither-nor, ...)
I will never come here again. / I won´t come here ever again.
There was no mistake.../ There wasn´t any mistake ...
• Words negative in meaning, not in form
(seldom, rarely, hardly, barely, scarcely, little, few, a little, a few )
Mary can hardly do it and neither can Paul.
They rarely agree on what to do, do they?
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You know little about linguistics, do you?
4. Negation
• Some V, Adj, Pr. may have negative meaning
- but don´t negate a sentence
- may be followed by nonassertive items
• Verbs (deny, refuse, ...) He denies ever doing it.
• Adjectives (unaware, unhappy,...) He is unaware of any...
• Prepositions (against) He is against doing
anything.
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4. Negation
4.2. Syntactic features
• Followed by a positive question tag
You can´t do it, can you?
John can hardly do it, can he?
• Followed by negative clauses
I am not happy and neither /nor is Jim.
Jim doesn´t speak English. No he doesn´t.
• Followed by nonassertive items (nesúhlasné)
(any, ever, at all, any more, any longer, either, much...)
I don´t love him any more / at all / much …
• Inversion (fronting)
Not a word would he say! (V-S)
Little did I know about him. (V-S)
Hardly ever has he... (V-S)
• Negative questions – (disappointment, annoyance)
Nemôžeš mi pomôcť? Can´t you
help me?
SL = polite / EL = rude !!! (Interference) 5
4. Negation
4.3. Semantic features
Scope of negation
Normally the whole sentence is negative but sometimes:
• Adjunct may (not) lie outside the scope
I wasn´t working all the time.
(... just at the beginning./... I was sleeping all the time.)
• Assertive (non) items may change the scope
I didn´t examine some of the students.
I didn´t examine any of the students.
• Two ways of negating – meaning may be different
All the students didn´t pass. (= all failed)
Not all the students passed. (= some passed)
Many people didn´t come.
Not many people came.
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4. Negation
Focus of negation
- negation may be focussed only on 1 item, while the rest of the sentence is positive .
I didn´t explain the grammar to all my students yesterday.
(My colleague.../dictated .../literature.../to some of .../ your.../ friends.../ today)
Local negation (just 1 element is negated, sentence is positive)
He read a not very interesting book.
I saw him not long ago.
He lives not far from here, doesn´t he?
Negation of modal auxiliaries – ambiguous meaning
John may not come.
John may not come. - He is not allowed to come. - It is improbable that he
comes. - (John is unlikely to come).
John may not come. - He is allowed not to come.
- It is possible that he will not come.
- (John is likely not to come.)
- MA may have different forms in negation:
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4. Negation
MA may have different forms in negation e.g.:
• must
- must not - it is forbidden
You mustn´t smoke in here!
- need not - it is not necessary
(don´t need to) We needn´t /don´t need to go there.
- don´t have to - no obligation
You don´t have to read the book.
- can´t - it is impossible
It can´t be love.
- may not - it is not allowed
You may not go out.
(All listed negative forms function also as negation of other
MA)
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