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In standard English, negative sentences are generally easier to understand than positive sentences.
In standard English, negative sentences are generally easier to understand than positive sentences.
False
The phrase 'a person who is not under the age of 17' means the person is aged 17 or over.
The phrase 'a person who is not under the age of 17' means the person is aged 17 or over.
True
The phrase 'a person must do X at least 24 hours before Y' has the same meaning as 'a person must do X not less than 24 hours before Y'.
The phrase 'a person must do X at least 24 hours before Y' has the same meaning as 'a person must do X not less than 24 hours before Y'.
True
The word 'unless' has a positive meaning.
The word 'unless' has a positive meaning.
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The negation of a simple sentence is accomplished by inserting 'not' between the subject and the predicate.
The negation of a simple sentence is accomplished by inserting 'not' between the subject and the predicate.
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In a sentence with no auxiliary verb, the auxiliary 'do' is used to form the negation.
In a sentence with no auxiliary verb, the auxiliary 'do' is used to form the negation.
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The sentence 'She does not see me every week' implies that she never sees me.
The sentence 'She does not see me every week' implies that she never sees me.
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The negation of a sentence with 'have' as the main verb is formed using 'do' as the auxiliary.
The negation of a sentence with 'have' as the main verb is formed using 'do' as the auxiliary.
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The sentence 'I do not have enough money' implies that I have some money, but not enough.
The sentence 'I do not have enough money' implies that I have some money, but not enough.
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The phrase 'She hasn't got enough money' is a formal way of saying 'She does not have enough money'.
The phrase 'She hasn't got enough money' is a formal way of saying 'She does not have enough money'.
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Study Notes
Word Order in Standard English
- Positive sentences are more direct and easier to understand than negative sentences due to the additional processing required for negation.
Negation in Sentences
- Negation is accomplished by inserting "not" or "n't" between the operator and the predication in a sentence.
- The operator in a sentence is the first auxiliary in the verb phrase, or "BE" or "HAVE" as the verb in a simple verb phrase.
Negative Words and Expressions
- Some words and expressions have negative meanings, such as "unless", "fail to", "notwithstanding", "except", "other than", "unlawful", "disallowed", "terminate", "void", and "insufficient".
- These words should be watched out for when they appear after "not" in a sentence.
Converting Negative to Positive Sentences
- To convert a negative sentence to a positive one, find a positive word to express the meaning.
- Examples of converting negative to positive sentences:
- "I'm not thirsty" → "I am thirsty"
- "He hasn't a car" → "He has a car"
- "The attempt has not succeeded" → "The attempt has succeeded"
Auxiliary Verb Usage
- When there is no auxiliary operator in a positive sentence, the auxiliary "do" is used, followed by the bare infinitive.
- Examples of using "do" as an auxiliary verb:
- "She does not see me every week" → "She sees me every week" (present tense, third person)
- "She did not see me last week" → "She saw me last week" (past tense)
Lexical Be and Lexical Have
- Sentences with lexical "be" behave exactly as when "be" is an auxiliary verb.
- Lexical "have" usually has "has" as the operator, and informally "got" is often added.
- Examples:
- "She isn't a teacher" → "She is a teacher"
- "I do not have enough money" → "I have enough money"
- "I haven't got enough money" → ?
Non-Assertive Words
- Some words, such as "some", "once", "already", "somebody", "something", "sometimes", "somewhere", and "someone", are mainly used in affirmative sentences.
- These words are often called assertive words.
- In questions and negatives, non-assertive words like "any", "anything", "anybody", "ever", and "yet" are used instead.
- Examples:
- "We've had some lunch" → "We haven't had any lunch" → "We've had no lunch"
- "I somehow surprised" → "I wasn't in any way surprised" → "I was in no way surprised"
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Description
Understand the difference between positive and negative sentences in English, including how they affect comprehension and length.
