Read A Workbook to Communicative Grammar of English Online
Authors: Dr. Edward Woods,Rudy Coppieters
A Workbook to Communicative Grammar of English (27 page)
Negative determiners and pronouns are often replaceable by
not/n’t … any
. Other negative words can often be replaced in similar ways.
Task one *
Deny the truth of the following sentences in a formal and at least one informal way.
Example: | We are going to the theatre tonight |
⇒ | We are not going to the theatre tonight |
We aren’t going to the theatre tonight. / We’re not going to the theatre tonight |
1.
I have been here before.
2.
We will be running out of money shortly.
3.
Charles teaches English to Asian immigrants.
4.
We had received an invitation from the local council.
5.
Some people like watching soap operas.
6.
I would buy a holiday cottage if I were you.
7.
Jessica is being stalked by her ex-boyfriend.
8.
Bill has been listening to the concert.
9.
David struck me as a very dedicated young man.
10.
They built a new tunnel to link the two islands.
11.
I shall see the leading actress after the performance.
12.
Our gardener cut down the big chestnut trees.
Task two **
Paraphrase the following pairs of sentences to bring out the difference in meaning.
Example: | a. |
b. | |
⇒ | a. |
b. |
1 a.
I truly can’t believe what happened last night.
b.
I can’t truly believe what happened last night.
2 a.
Jim particularly doesn’t like his mother-in-law’s fruitcakes.
b.
Jim doesn’t particularly like his mother-in-law’s fruitcakes.
3 a.
Smoking clearly isn’t forbidden in this canteen.
b.
Smoking isn’t clearly forbidden in this canteen.
4 a.
Frank really doesn’t know why Paula is so upset.
b.
Frank doesn’t really know why Paula is so upset.
5 a.
We possibly couldn’t come tomorrow.
b.
We couldn’t possibly come tomorrow.
Task three ***
Explain the ambiguity in each of the following sentences by paraphrasing the two meanings and referring to the scope of ‘not’.
Example: | The suspect wasn’t seen near the scene of the crime |
⇒ | (a) The suspect was (probably) not seen anywhere else either. |
(b) The suspect was seen somewhere else. |
1.
The applicants were not interviewed by the human resources officer.
2.
I haven’t discussed the children’s future with my wife.
3.
The opposition is not going to stage a demonstration next week.
4.
I didn’t offend Patricia by telling her she looked a bit under the weather.
5.
I don’t vote for the New Democrats to please my dad.
6.
The patient didn’t suffer any pain while she was in hospital.
7.
The local party leader was not re-elected as a result of a smear campaign.
8.
Monica didn’t get injured when she collided with the van.
9.
I haven’t been able to contact Jack on my mobile phone.
10.
I didn’t want to see Sylvia because I felt depressed.
Task four ***
(a) | Decide whether the underlined word is inside OR outside the scope of |
(b) | Paraphrase the sentences without changing their meaning. |
1.
I haven’t seen
some
of the famous Walt Disney films.
2.
Alice hasn’t visited the Taj Mahal
yet
.
3.
We hadn’t
ever
been notified of the health risks involved.
4.
Young Mr Plimsoll doesn’t
sometimes
attend Professor Barnaby’s lectures.
5.
There wasn’t
anybody
around to show me the way to the boardroom.
6.
Look, it’s not as if we didn’t
already
have enough problems.
7.
The problem with Terry is that he will not
sometimes
listen to what I’m saying.
8.
The suspect said he hadn’t got
anything
to do with the recent spate of burglaries.
9.
There isn’t
yet
a sign that relations between the two countries are improving.
10.
This untalented and boorish ‘artist’ shouldn’t
ever
be allowed in here again.
11.
We haven’t seen
some
of the applicants
yet
.
12.
The relief bus can’t
already
have arrived to pick up
any
of the stranded passengers.
Task five **
Complete the following text by adding one of the following negative words:
few | little | neither | never | no | nobody |
none | nor | nothing | nowhere | rarely | scarcely |
As I was looking for the fruit juice this morning, I found there was __________ any left in the refrigerator. I wondered why there was so __________ of it so early in the week, but __________ Pam __________ Ruth could give a reasonable explanation. “Well,” I sighed, “I suppose there’s __________ to be done about it.”
Going back to the refrigerator, I also found that there were very _________ oranges left. And as for grapefruits, there were __________ whatsoever. This was something that had __________ happened before. I was about to ask Pam and Ruth again, but they were __________ to be seen any more. As I had __________ to turn to now, I saw __________ option but to hurry to the shop around the corner. __________ had I felt so let down by my two roommates, sending me off to the grocer’s on an empty stomach like this.
Task six **
When you have completed the above text, try to express negation in an alternative way by using synonymous phrases where possible.
Example: | I have |
⇒ | I |
13.9. Denial and affirmation 2
•
Occasionally a negative word only applies its meaning to a phrase or part of a phrase elsewhere in the sentence.
•
Non-finite clauses are made negative by placing not before the verb phrase.
•
With main clause verbs like believe, suppose and think the element not can be transferred from the subclause to the main clause.
Task one ***
Replace the underlined phrases with alternative expressions requiring the use of
no
or
not
, keeping the meaning (more or less) intact.
Example: | Donald is |
⇒ | Donald is |
1.
Lack
of news is good news.
2.
Hubert gave me a
rather unconvincing
reply.
3.
Only some
of the students disliked their history teacher.
4.
It is
quite usual
for tribespeople to behave in this extraordinary way.
5.
A
rather important
detail was overlooked by all those present.
6.
Beatrice did sell her caravan, but
with
some regret.
7.
Most observers agreed that the workers’ demands were
quite reasonable
.
8.
The absence of
electricity means that people have to live in primitive circumstances.
9.
In spite of everything,
some
of these deprived children are
happy
.
10.
The President will visit South Korea in the
relatively near
future.
11.
Dyslexia in children
quite frequently
goes unrecognized for years.
12.
We can put off the scheme for some time, but
there is a limit
.
Task two **
Replace the underlined part with an infinitive OR an -
ing
clause, keeping the meaning intact.
1.
I tiptoed through the room
so that I wouldn’t wake up the sleeping toddler
.
2.
As I couldn’t tell the difference between the twins
, I asked them both to wear name tags.
3.
The ideal solution would be
if drivers didn’t think of their vehicles as race cars
.
4.
The fact that you aren’t rich
doesn’t necessarily mean that you are unhappy.
5.
Mr Templar was the only person
who didn’t drink a single drop of alcohol
.
6.
Laura was livid with rage
as she hadn’t been invited to the wedding party
.
7.
The instructor began by telling us
how we should not respond in an emergency situation
.
8.
One student objected to
the fact that he didn’t have access to the Internet
.
9.
Most observers expect
there won’t be too many problems
.
10.
As I didn’t know
where to go, I simply decided to stay at home.
Task three **
Transfer the negative element to the main clause in the sentences making up the following dialogue.
Amy: | Boris, I think I won’t be coming to your party after all. |
Boris: | No problem. I suppose nobody will miss you. |
Amy: | What a rude thing to say! I believe you don’t realize how badly some of your guests behaved last month. |
Boris: | Well, I expect that bunch of lager louts won’t show up this time. They haven’t been invited. |
Amy: | Oh, good. You see, I thought I would have no chance at all of enjoying myself with them around. |
Boris: | Look, I’m sorry about what I said. I suppose you wouldn’t be willing to change your mind? |
Amy: | Hmm. I feel I shouldn’t give in too easily. I can be very stubborn, you know. |
Boris: | Yes, I do know that. Still, I would expect you not to be too stubborn, just for my sake. |
Amy: | Turning on the old charm again? OK, you win. I think I shouldn’t make you feel miserable for the rest of your life. |
Boris: | Great! I believed I could never win you over. Thanks for proving me wrong. |
13.10. Denial and affirmation 3
To emphasize the positive meaning of a sentence or to deny what someone has suggested or supposed, the intonation nucleus is put on the operator. When the negative is not contracted, the nucleus falls on
not
.
Shortened forms can be used to affirm a question or statement or to deny a statement.
The construction
not/n’t … but
is used to deny one idea and to affirm another, contrasting, idea.
Task one **
Respond to the following sentences by denying them. Use complete sentences, indicating the intonation-nucleus.
Example: | The postal workers have decided to go on strike, I hear |
⇒ | They |
1.
There won’t be an inquiry into the railway disaster then?
2.
So the new stadium isn’t going to be built after all?
3.
Where did you buy that garden swing?
4.
What a shame your visitors arrived so late!
5.
You can’t lend a hand with these heavy cases, I suppose.
6.
Surely this organization has secret funds somewhere?
7.
Why do you keep refusing to learn a foreign language?
8.
Teachers shouldn’t get upset when children skip classes, I would think.
9.
This great innovator deserves special praise, surely?
10.
I wonder when Jane and Dick are coming over for their annual holiday.
11.
Clearly, your sister doesn’t want to see me any more now.
12.
Tell me, why hasn’t anyone called an ambulance?
