Unit 91: Negatives Review

Understanding Double Negatives

A negative is a word that means “no.” In English, using two negative words in the same clause is called a double negative.This is incorrect in standard grammar because the two negatives cancel each other out, often creating a positive meaning that was not intended.

Common Negative Words: no, not (and n’t), never, none, nobody, no one, nothing, nowhere.

Tricky Negatives: The words hardly, barely, and scarcely are also considered negative words. Do not use them with another negative [1, 3].

How to Fix a Double Negative:

  1. Remove one of the negative words. (Incorrect: I don’t need no help. Correct: I don’t need help.)
  2. Replace a negative word with a positive word. (Incorrect: He didn’t see nobody. Correct: He didn’t see anybody.)
Illustration 1
Exercise 1: Identifying Negative Words

Circle the word in each list that is a negative word or acts asa negative in a sentence.

  1. always, barely, sometimes, usually
  2. something, anything, everything, nothing
  3. someone, nobody, everyone, person
  4. ever, often, never, frequently
  5. hardly, quick, slow, easy
  6. scarcely, many, few, lot
  7. one, none, some, all
  8. nowhere, somewhere, anywhere, everywhere
Exercise 2: Correct or Incorrect?

Read the sentences below. Write C if the sentence is correct and I if it contains a double negative.

  1. I didn’t buy no candy for the party. _____
  2. My brother does not want to wear a costume this year. _____
  3. I can’t barely wait to go to the new restaurant. _____
  4. There isn’t any time left for questions. _____
  5. We didn’t have none of the new uniforms. _____
  6. Nobodyignored the fire alarm when it sounded. _____
  7. You don’t need no shoesto walk on the beach. _____
  8. My little sister doesn’t like the food none. _____
Illustration 2

It is important to recognize the contraction n’t (short for not) as a negative word. Words like don’t, can’t, won’t, and isn’t count as your one allowed negative in a clause. When you usethese, the following words should be positive (any, ever, anyone).

Exercise 3: Choosing the Correct Word

Select the word that correctly completes the sentence without creating a double negative.

  1. We couldn’t see (no / any) reason for the dog to bark.
  2. There wasn’t (no / any) other customer inthe shop.
  3. The owner didn’t seem to care (none / at all) about the noise.
  4. The dog was not wearing (no / a) collar.
  5. No one said(nothing / anything) to the teacher.
  6. I won’t (never / ever) go to that store again.
  7. She doesn’t have (no / any) homework tonight.
  8. He can’t find his keys (nowhere / anywhere).
Exercise 4: Fixing by Removing

Rewrite the following sentences by removing one unnecessary negative word.

  1. We didn’t never catch anything when we went fishing.
  2. You don’t need no umbrella today.
  3. Nobody never travels on that road anymore.
  4. She couldn’t play on no playgrounds.
  5. Athletes don’t never give up easily.
  6. There aren’t no boring sports headlines today.
  7. The players on the other team weren’t never sorry.
  8. I haven’t found nothing in the garden yet.
Exercise 5: Fixing by Replacing

Rewrite these sentences by changing the italicized negative word to a positive word (e.g., change no to any).

  1. Wenever catch nothing when we go fishing.
  2. I can’t find my booknowhere.
  3. We didn’t have none of the supplies we needed.
  4. There isn’t nobody at the door.
  5. She didn’tput no labels on the boxes.
  6. I don’t want nothing for lunch.
  7. He hardly never eats vegetables.
  8. We won’t never get there on time.
Illustration 3
Exercise 6: Classifying Words

Sort the following words into the correct column: Negative or Positive.

(nobody, anyone, scarcely, ever, never, anything, none, anywhere, nowhere, any)

Negative Words Positive Words
Bài trướcBài sau