Alternative negative forms

13.8 Negative statements with 'negative adverbs' [> 7.59.3 App
19]

We can make negative and near-negative sentences with adverbs like never seldom rarely hardly ever scarcely ever (frequency), and barely hardly scarcely (= only just) Sentences which include one of these words or phrases are sometimes called 'implied negatives We never see them nowadays (more emphatic than We don t see) We hardly (ever)/scarcely (ever)Zrarely see them nowadays For the effect of negative adverbs on word order [> 7.59.3]

13.9 Negatives with 'no' and 'not any' [> 4.37.5.11]

No any and their compounds form negatives as follows

'No' and 'no'-compounds 'Any' and 'any'-compounds

Affirmative verb negative verb

/ ve got no time I haven t got any time

I ve seen no one/nobody I haven t seen any one/anybody

I ve bought none of them I haven t bought any of them

I ve done nothing today I haven t done anything today

I ve been nowhere today I haven t been anywhere today

The two kinds of negatives have the same meaning though no is

generally more emphatic than not any

13 Questions answers negatives

Only one negative in any one clause

We cannot normally use a negative adverb or a word like nobody in combination with a negative verb Compare

/ can't get any eggs I can get no eggs

I can never (or hardly) get any information etc Two negative words in a sentence make a 'double negative' A double negative can be used to express an affirmative, but this is rare or sometimes heard in joking

Nobody did nothing (= Everybody did something) More than one negative is acceptable when there is co-ordination

/ ve never had and never wanted a television set Negatives are also possible in different clauses

/ can never get in touch with Thomas as he has no telephone And note We can't not go (= We can't avoid going) [> 16.14]

Nouns, verbs and adjectives with negative meanings

Other parts of speech besides adverbs have a negative effect

- nouns such as denial failure refusal His failure to react quickly enough caused the crash (= He did not react quickly enough and this caused the crash)

- verbs such as deny fail forget refuse, which can be used in the affirmative and the negative and often attract words like any [> 5.10] She refused any help (= She did not accept any help)

- adjectives like improbable unlikely
It's now unlikely that he II be here in time for lunch (= He
probably won't be here in time for lunch)
Compare the negative effect of the preposition without [> 16.51]