Negation

Question 1

Gram. positive/negative?
- She’s been rather negative about the idea.

Answer 1

… hasn’t she? → positive

Question 2

Gram. positive/negative?
- He didn’t say anything to anybody.

Answer 2

… did he? → negative

Question 3

Gram. positive/negative?
- She disagreed with all of them.

Answer 3

… didn’t she? → positive

Question 4

Gram. positive/negative?
- I can do nothing to help you.

Answer 4

negative

Question 5

Gram. positive/negative?
- There’s hardly any chance of them
changing their mind.

Answer 5

negative
(hardly behaves similarly to NOT)

Question 6

Clausal/local negation?
- She works for nothing.

Answer 6

local

Question 7

Clausal/local negation?
- She is interested in nothing.

Answer 7

clausal

Question 8

Clausal/local negation?
- I don’t want to make a fuss about nothing.

Answer 8

clausal, also local (on “nothing”)

Question 9

Clausal/local negation? (+ non/verbal)
- I couldn’t sleep a wink all night.

Answer 9

clausal, verbal

Question 10

Clausal/local negation? (+ non/verbal)
- He has never done anything positive in his life.

Answer 10

clausal, non-verbal

Question 11

Clausal/local negation? (+ non/verbal)
- When you put it like that it’s not entirely impossible.

Answer 11

clausal (it’s not) + local (impossible)

Question 12

Clausal/local negation? (+ non/verbal)
- He wondered, not for the first time, whether great wealth is necessarily a deterrent to rational thought.

Answer 12

local

Question 13

Clausal/local negation? (+ non/verbal)
- Not a word of complaint did she utter.

Answer 13

clausal, non-verbal