Unit 85: Negatives

Match the negative word on the left with its appropriate definition or translation on the right.

1. 1. Barely  —  A. Not any of a group of three or more things/people.
2. 2. Nowhere  —  B. At no time in the past or future.
3. 3. Nobody  —  C. Hardly or scarcely; almost not at all.
4. 4. Neither  —  D. Not in or at any place.
5. 5. None  —  E. No person; no one.
6. 6. Never  —  F. Not one nor the other of two people or things.

Complete each sentence using a word from the word bank. Do not use any word more than once.

1. 1. I looked everywhere for my keys, but they were ____________ to be found.
2. 2. There is ____________ water left in this bottle; it is completely dry.
3. 3. ____________ answered the door when I knocked, so I walked away.
4. 4. I have ____________ eaten sushi before, so today is my very first time!
5. 5. The whisper was so quiet that I could ____________ hear what she said.
6. 6. ____________ of the two dresses fit her, so she didn’t buy either.

Choose the grammatically correct option to complete each sentence without forming a double negative.

1. 1. She didn’t want ________ to eat because she felt sick.
       A. nothing     B. anything     C. no item
2. 2. We couldn’t find ________ who knew the directions.
       A. nobody     B. anybody     C. no one
3. 3. They haven’t ________ traveled outside their home country.
       A. never     B. barely     C. ever
4. 4. I can ________ believe that the school year is already over.
       A. barely     B. can’t barely     C. don’t barely
5. 5. He does not have ________ money to purchase a computer.
       A. no     B. any     C. none
6. 6. There isn’t ________ in the storage room right now.
       A. nothing     B. nowhere     C. anything

Determine whether the following sentences are grammatically correct (True) or incorrect due to double negatives (False).

1. 1. I don’t need no help from anyone.   (  T  /  F  )
2. 2. Neither of the options looks correct to me.   (  T  /  F  )
3. 3. He barely speaks any English during class.   (  T  /  F  )
4. 4. We didn’t see nobody at the front desk.   (  T  /  F  )
5. 5. She has no idea where her brother went.   (  T  /  F  )
6. 6. I haven’t got none of the supplies you requested.   (  T  /  F  )

Rearrange the words to make grammatically correct sentences that avoid double negatives.

1. 1. candy / left / there / in / jar / is / no / the .
   __________________________________________________________________
2. 2. projects / finished / of / neither / us / the .
   __________________________________________________________________
3. 3. project / anything / he / about / knows / the / not / does .
   __________________________________________________________________
4. 4. see / we / dark / could / the / barely / in .
   __________________________________________________________________
5. 5. forgot / homework / my / bring / to / never / I .
   __________________________________________________________________
6. 6. help / problem / nobody / with / the / me / would .
   __________________________________________________________________

Read the sentences below. One sentence in each pair is incorrect. Underline or circle the correct option.

1. 1. [A] I don’t know nothing about history. / [B] I know nothing about history.
2. 2. [A] She can barely walk after the race. / [B] She can’t barely walk after the race.
3. 3. [A] We have no bread left. / [B] We don’t have no bread left.
4. 4. [A] Nobody told me about the meeting. / [B] Nobody didn’t tell me about the meeting.
5. 5. [A] I haven’t never seen that movie. / [B] I have never seen that movie.
6. 6. [A] Neither of them wants to go out. / [B] Neither of them don’t want to go out.