NEGATIVE SENTENCES

391. Study how a negative sentence can be written in two ways :

1).     (a) I do not know either Sophie or Angelina.
         (b) I know neither Sophie nor Angelina.


2).     (a) She cannot read or write.
         (b) She can neither read nor write.


3).     (a) We did not meet anybody there.
         (b) We met nobody there.


4).     (a) They had not anything to eat.
         (b)  They had nothing to eat.


5).     (a) We have not any work to do.
         (b) We have no work to do.


6).     (a) I cannot bear this pain any longer.
         (b) I can bear this pain no longer.



(*) Note :- In a Negative Sentence only one negative is used. Two negatives make 
                  an affirmative.

    For Example :- *)" He is Unable to do this work" is a Negative Sentence.
                                    But if we use " not " , it becomes affirmative ; as,

                   Exercise 132. Make the following Affirmative Sentences Negative :-

  
              (*)  Questions with " There " and " It " (*)

1). Is there any letter for me ?

2). Are there any mangoes in the basket ?

3). Were there many people at the concert ?

4). Has there been heavy rain today ?

5). Will there be a holiday tomorrow ?

6). Is it raining hard ?

7). Is it true that she is ill ?

8). Was it true that you were late ?

9.) Was it good on her part to betray her husband ?

10). Will it be wise to go without her ?



                         
                  (*) Answering Questions (*)

393). Consider the different answers that may be made to the following question :-

         *) Example :- Did your sister pass the examination ?
                                    
         *)  The four possible answers are :-
          
           (a)  { Yes, my sister passed the examination.            
                 { No, my sister did not pass the examination.    

           (b)  { Yes, she passed the examination.
                 { No, she did not pass the examination.

            (c) { Yes, she passed it.
                 { No, she didn't pass it.

             (d) { Yes, she did.
                  { No, she didn't.

           (*)  The long and complete answers as in (a) are formal and unnatural.In spoken 
                 English,the short answers as in (d) are the most natural and common.

          (*) Other Examples are :-

                { Can you lend me ten rupees?
                { Yes, I can.   ( Instead of : can lend you ten rupees.)

                { Have you read this story ?
                { No, I haven't.  ( Instead of : haven't read this story.)

                { Does he like oranges ?
                { Yes, he does.   ( Instead of : like oranges. )

                { Who discovered America ?
                { Columbus did.  ( Instead of : discovered America. )

                { Which boys work hardest ?
                { Harry and Tony do.  ( Instead of : work hardest. )

                { How much of it was destroyed ?
                { Half of it was.      ( Instead of : was destroyed. )





                 (*) Framing Questions for the Answers (*)

394 ) . Sometimes you are asked to frame a question to fit an answer.The nature of the
            question can be gathered from the words printed in bold type.

         1. I met an old woman in the park last night.
         2. Who (m) did you meet in the park last night ?

         1. I met an old woman in the park last night.
         2. Where did you meet an old woman last night ?

         1. I met an old woman in the park last night ?
         2. When did you mean an old woman in the park ?





                               (*) Question Tags (*)

395. In English, people often make a statement and then add a little question on to the
        end of it.

      *) We frequently hear people saying things like :
         
          1) Peter works hard, doesn't he?
          2) She came home late, didn't she ?
          3) He doesn't like reading, does he?
          4) She can't see very well, can she ?

       

         *) This type of sentence--- a statement followed by a little question called a
           " Question Tag"--- is generally used when we want the listener to confirm
              what we have said.

              @) Notice that the first and second statements :
                    1) Peter works hard
                    2) She came home late
  
                    are followed by negative Question Tags :
                          1) doesn't he?
                          2) didn't she ?

               

               @) The third and fourth statements :
                        3) He doesn't like reading
                        4) She can't see very well

                        are followed by positive Question tags :
                            3) Does he ?
                            4) can she ?

            So we see that when the statement is positive the Tag is negative;
                                     when the statement is negative, the Tag is positive.


        

(*) More examples:

                                  (A)
       
       @) You are coming tomorrow, aren't you ? 
       @) She speaks English, doesn't she ?
       @) You know her well, don't you ?
       @) You have met her before, haven't you ?
       @) He came early this morning, didn't he ?
       @) She will visit us tomorrow, won't she ?   




                                   (B)

       @) He can't understand English, can he ?
       @) You should't tell lies, should you ?
       @) He hasn't finished his work yet, has he ?
       @) She doesn't look well, does she ?
       @) She didn't tell lies, did she ?
       @) She won't help us, will she ?