ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: did not buy anything vs. bought nothing

Palinkasocsi — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 06:05:12 GMT

Thanks, Avangi!

Palinkasocsi

Re: did not buy anything vs. bought nothing

Avangi — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 19:47:50 GMT

You should go shopping in Los Angeles - The San Fernando Valley, not Beverly Hills! There are some rude salespeople. They might rush you, or try to stampede you into making a decision, getting shoes that hurt your feet, making you feel cheap, not listening to you, giving you a disgusted look, talking down to you, refusing to help you find merchandise, pressuring you to buy something you don't want, etc.

These are exactly the slacks I'm looking for, but do you have them in a 32-inch waist?

Re: did not buy anything vs. bought nothing

Palinkasocsi — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 11:14:37 GMT

Dear Avangi,

Could you give me a concrete example to illustrate your point:

"If you were ticked off about the way you had been treated ... "?

How can you be mistreated by say a salesman so that you could get ticked off?

Also, what do you mean by:

"the store was unable to furnish your size in the style you had in mind"?

Could you give a paraphrase?

P.

Re: did not buy anything vs. bought nothing

Palinkasocsi — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 08:32:29 GMT

Thanks Avangi and CalifJim!

P.

Re: did not buy anything vs. bought nothing

CalifJim — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:23:32 GMT

Perhaps not exactly more certain, but somewhat more emphatic.

There is also a tendency to use 1 for abstract ideas (I have no idea what to do) and 2 for concrete objects (I don't have any stamps).

Re: did not buy anything vs. bought nothing

Avangi — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:34:03 GMT

I agree, although the first usage is uncommon in my experience.

If you were ticked off about the way you had been treated, you might use it to convey your anger, emphasizing that you did not do business with these people.

When using the second expression, your shopping experience may have been pleasant, but the store was unable to furnish your size in the style you had in mind.

In a parallel situation, suppose you were being tortured to give up secret information. "I gave them nothing!" would be more emphatic than, "I didn't give them anything."

In solving a difficult problem, "I'm getting nowhere with this" is more "negative" than "I'm not getting anywhere with this."

did not buy anything vs. bought nothing

Palinkasocsi — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:04:35 GMT

Dear all,

I have read in a linguistic paper: 'A speaker who uses 1. is more certain of his negation than the speaker who uses 2.:

1. I bought nothing.
2. I did not buy anything.'

Do you natives agree? Could you elaborate on this? I am not sure I get the point.

Thanks a lot.

P.