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Negatives and semi-negatives

ONLY ONE NEGATIVE STATEMENT IS POSSIBLE IN A SENTENCE: therefore, if there's already one negative item, (never, nobody, neither ... nor, etc.), the verb MUST BE put in the affirmative form. Therefore, a choice must be made: verb in the affirmative + negative statement // OR // verb in the negative + affirmative statement. 

- I never smoke! et non pas I don't never smoke!/ Nobody's perfect./ I drink neither gin nor whisky.

1)  When the verb is in the negative form we mustn't use NO and its locutions, but ANY and its locutions

- I don't know anybody in this party, but I'll have fun anyway... (I don't know nobody) 

2) HARDLY, (= only just, almost not, with little likelihood) is semi-negative. The different elements in the sentence must be in the affirmative. So do SCARCELY, RARELY, BARELY; they have a negative meaning, 'only just' (also with a temporal meaning),  SELDOM...  

Rarely, scarcely and seldom are more common in writing than in speaking.

- There's hardly anything good in the fridge. (and not "There's hardly nothing...") 

When the language should be more formal, or in order to insist, hardly, scarcely or barely can be put at the beginning of the sentence. Then, there must be an inversion of the subject.  (Be careful of the construction: Barely.... when... ) "semi-negative word + auxiliary + subject + verb + WHEN/ THAN..."

- Hardly had she arrived when/than he ordered her out of the room... 

* Seldom= rarely. 

 - We very seldom eat in Indian restaurants: the food is too spicy for me... 

-  Seldom do we eat in Indian restaurants... is more formal.

 After WITHOUT, negative items mustn't be used.

- I found the way to your house without any difficulty.  

Therefore, as you could notice, there's after all only ONE RULE TO RESPECT: never use two negatives in the same clause... If you do, they will contradict each other and will make a very big mistake! 

You only have to respect this important rule in the following test! Go for it! 

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1. As he hadn’t changed money before leaving his country, and had no credit card, Oliver couldn’t buy somethinganythingnothingI don't know during his stay in the foreign village.



2. The unexperienced teacher keeps repeating orders and advice, but is hardly nowherenevernothingeverI don't know followed by his unruly students



3. During the crisis, without someonenobodyanyoneno oneI don't know to help serve the customers, the shop had to close down, which is a pity.



4. Except during the long power strike, we scarcely neverno oneevernobodyI don't know used our generator. It’s still brand new.



5. I couldn’t find my remote control anywherenowheresomewhereI don't know and discovered it had been washed together with my bed sheets. Stupid me!



6. With my broken wrist, I can’t hardlyscarcelyeitherneiherI don't know write or even type on my computer.



7. His English is so bad that scarcely onehardly anyonebarely someonehardly no oneI don't know can understand him. He should make an effort.



8. Jenny talks and talks without everwithout neverwithout seldomI don't know thinking before. She’s exasperating.



9. 'Sorry, I drink either tea orneither tea norneither tea orI don't know coffee for breakfast. I'll have milk, please.'



10. 'He found hardly no onehardly nobodyhardly anyoneI don't know to give him a hand when he needed help. His friends let him down.'