Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum, A STUDENT'S INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH GRAMMAR (Cambridge University Press, 2005)
1. Are the following clauses grammatically positive or negative? Give evidence for your answers.
| Ex | She unpacked her suitcases. |
| A | This clause is positive. (a) It doesn't allow the not even construction: *She unpacked her suitcases, not even the big one. (b) It takes connective so rather than neither or nor: She unpacked her suitcases and so did her mother. (c) The appropriate confirmatory tag is negative: She unpacked her suitcases, didn't she? |
| Ex | I have nothing to offer them. |
| A | This clause is negative. (a) It allows the not even construction: We have nothing to offer them, not even some bread and butter. (b) It takes connective neither or nor, not so: We have nothing to offer them and neither do my parents. (c) The appropriate confirmatory tag is positive: We have nothing to offer them, do we? (or, for some speakers, %We have nothing to offer them have we?) |
2. The following examples have non-verbal clausal negation; construct equivalent examples with verbal negation.
| Ex | We have nothing to offer them. |
| A | We don't have anything to offer them. (Or %We haven't anything to offer them.) |
| Ex | They accepted none of our recommendations. |
| A | They didn't accept any of our recommendations. |
3. {No model answer appropriate for Ex 3.}
4. For each of the following words or expressions, construct one example where it behaves as a non-affirmative item and one where it is not polarity-sensitive:
| Ex | have a clue |
| A | Non-affirmative use: None of us have a clue what the test is going to be about.
Use where it is not polarity-sensitive: I have a clue that I'll give you if you need some help. |