Chapter 2 Correct Usage PDF

Chapter 2 Correct Usage A. Solving Special Problem Double Negatives A double negative is a statement which contains two negative words. Incorrect: Correct: I ain't seen nobody. I haven't seen anybody. Silas...

Chapter 2 Correct Usage A. Solving Special Problem Double Negatives A double negative is a statement which contains two negative words. Incorrect: Correct: I ain't seen nobody. I haven't seen anybody. Silas didn’t invite nobody. Silas didn’t invite anybody. Silas invited I haven’t no time now. nobody She never told us nothing about I haven’t any time now. I have no time now. her party She never told us anything about her party. She told us nothing about her party.  Correcting Double Negatives The most frequently used negative words are no, not, nothing, never, none, no one, nowhere, neither, and nobody. There are some words which have a negative element in their meanings although they contain no overly negative affix. These words are: hardly, scarcely, barely, etc. Incorrect: I haven't barely started to think about my exam. Correct: I have barely started to think about my exam. Nobody, nothing, never are considered emphatic. Be careful when you use these words. Use not anybody, not ever instead. Anybody, anything, and ever are not negative and have to be used with not to convey a negative meaning. There are justifiable uses of two negative words in a sentence. In the sentence, the use of Correct: There is no way I cannot visit my mother this year. double negatives is emphatic -- "I must visit my mother." Correct: I wasn't unhappy with my grade. Here the double negative is used to intend a positive or lukewarm meaning -- "I wasn't displeased, but I wasn't elated either about my grade." Two negative ideas can be expressed with not... or and not... nor conjunctions. When not is followed by two or more verbs, nouns, or adjectives, it is joined by or. Correct: He doesn't drink or dance. Use nor after a phrase to separate and emphasize a second verb, adjective, or noun. Correct: Our main objective is not oil, nor power. It is stability in the region. Miss has a negative meaning and does not need to have a negative added. I miss not seeing him every day. I miss seeing him every day. The waitress wasn't doing nothing but standing around smoking. Correct: The waitress wasn't doing anything but standing around smoking. The waitress was doing nothing but standing around smoking. The shopper did not have no energy left at the end of the day. The shopper did not have any energy left at the end of the day. The shopper had no energy left at the end of the day. Common Usage Problems Commonly Confused Words Accept/Except Accept is a verb which means to "agree or receive favorably." I accept the invitation to the party. Except is most often used as a preposition that means "excluding, leaving out, but." I would go except it's too far. We can also say: I would go, but it's too far. Adapt/Adopt Used as a verb, adapt means to "make fit or adjust." The current production process needs to be adapted to the new technological requirements. Adopt means to "accept as one's own or choose." The parliament voted unanimously to adopt new changes to the constitution. Affect, effect affect is usually a verb (action) effect is usually a noun (thing) If it's something you're going to do, use "affect." If it's something you've already done, use "effect." Example: The noise outside affected my performance. His smile had a strange effect on me. beside, besides "Beside" is a preposition that means "close to" or "next to." "Besides" is also a preposition that means "in addition to" or "apart from." It can also serve as an adverb that means "furthermore" or "another thing." Example: Come and sit beside me. Your shirt is beside the closet. Besides Anna, who else went to the concert? Besides, there's more than meets the eye.  Farther can be used as an adjective and an adverb. It’s used to mean “at a greater distance,” whether literally or figuratively. Further may be used in a similar way to mean “at a greater distance” (though “farther” is more common). But it can also be used as an adjective meaning “more,” as an adverb meaning “additionally,” and as a verb meaning “advance” or “promote.”  Further research is needed into the Colorado is farther from New York than Iowa. subject. We were sitting farther away from the stage than Geoff intended to further his career I had hoped. through hard work and diligence. Further, I intend to investigate the I’ll go this far, and no farther. effects of caffeine intake on the participants’ concentration.