Search results for 'tag:Negatives tag:Nouns' matching tags 'Negatives' and 'Nouns'

Re: or /nor

Tanit — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:58:19 GMT

Hi

May I quote an excerpt from M. Swan, 2005, Practical English Usage, 3rd edition. OUP. (para. 370.5 "Two negative ideas: not ... or / not ... nor") I posted some months ago in another thread?

Swan

When not refers to two or more verbs, nouns, adjectives etc, we usually join them with or.
...
However, we can use not after a pause, to separate and emphasise a second verb, adjective etc.
Our main need is not food, nor money. It is education. (More emphatic than ... food or money.)
She didn't phone that day, nor the next day. (More emphatic than ... or the next day.)
Note that neither cannot be used in this way.

In the other thread, I think I learnt that:
1. neither ... nor ... / not ... or ... are more common in everyday speech -- more "natural"
2. not ... nor ... (possibly with a comma before "nor") emphasises the second part, so it can be used as a stylistic (formal? rhetoric?) device.
I assume this could explain the number of hits returned by G.Books. Would you agree?

Re: punctuation

Mr Wordy — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:05:49 GMT

Anonymous
Thank you. Why the phrase "a few" is needed before "weeks"? Can we use "few" weeks to note our dissatisfaction with the number of weeks or to denote a negative sense??eg, few pens
Thank you.

Yes, exactly -- dissatisfaction or a negative sense (fewer than might be expected/wanted, a notably small number, etc.)

There have been a few weeks better than this one = there have been some better weeks; this isn't the best.

There have been few weeks better than this one = this is one of the best weeks; hardly any weeks have been better.

Same with pens, and all sorts of other nouns.

But "few weeks ago" is unnatural. So, you wouldn't say "at our high school reunion few weeks ago", even if for some reason you wanted a negative sense.

Re: few, a few, a couple of -- difference?

Anonymous — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 05:09:07 GMT

Thank you, Mr. M. What is the difference? Why a person might envision a polarity, whereas the others might not. Both seem to be applying the chosen phrases before a plural noun.

I have been busy for a few days. I have eaten a few apples. -- from a positive polarity view point?

I have been busy for few days. I have eaten few apples. -- from a negative polarity view point

Re: Anton's 7-letter word

Grammar Geek — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:32:56 GMT

Is it a concrete noun?

If yes, is it naturally occurring, or man-made?

If no, does it have overall positive or negative associations?

Re: Barb's 10-letter word

Grammar Geek — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:26:02 GMT

Wow, the questions are getting very precise early in the game now.

It is an abstract noun with negative associations. It's not a profession, but your profession can cause it!

Re: feelings for or toward

Goodman — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:25:05 GMT

<<>>Can I switch the pronoun like this, from I to you and back to I?

Perosnally,no, not if I cna avoid it.
I strongly believe context is everything. If the context is unclear or incorrectly constructed, all bets are off. I would say it like this:

I had so much anger and hatred toward her. But I realized the sooner I let go of the negative energy, the sooner I would feel better. So I did. The moment I let go, I felt the world was lifted off my shoulder.

Re: Problem with There's, there aren't + some/any

Hector9 — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 15:05:34 GMT

Thank you for your answer.

So, If I want to say that are chairs in here, What must I use?

There are chairs in here. (I think this is wrong)

There are some chairs in here. (I think this is the great sentence)

With gold:

There's some gold in that mine. (I think this is the great sentence)

There's gold in that mine (I think this is wrong)

Am I OK? In accord what you said, I think I'm ok now, but I really don't know.

In other words, with uncountable nouns, Must I use them with 'some and 'any' in negative and positive sentences?

For example:

I have some new information for you or I have new information for you?

There's not any water at the kitchen or There's not water at the kitchen?

Thanks a lot

Re: no and not

Avangi — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:49:35 GMT

"Not" is used with a verb to make it negative, usually with the helping verb "do." "No" may answer a question, or it may be used with a noun to indicate a zero quantity.

She is pretty. She is not pretty.

I like her. I do not like her.

You can pet the animals. You can not (can't) pet the animals.

Run! Do not (don't) run!

There is no excuse for what you've done.

We have seven more bananas. We have no more bananas.

Take no prisoners.

Re: Differences between English and your native language

Kooyeen — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 17:38:51 GMT

Hi CB,
I wouldn't know where to start! English grammar is pretty different from Italian grammar. However, there are a lot of similar words (one example: government - governo), and several similar structures and idioms. The problem is that there are also several false friends, and lots of features that are very confusing because they wouldn't make sense in Italian.

One example is prepositions: on the net, on a pc, in a movie, in a dictionary, in a newspaper... in Italian you could use either "in" or "on" (nel, nella, etc / sul, sulla, etc.), and no one would notice (I hope so, lol). I always have to be careful to use the right prepositions in English, in Italian I pick one at random, lol.

Then there are tricky words like "any" and "some", which in Italian are both "del, delle, etc.", so you don't have to choose. The same is true of "few" and "little" (=un po'), and for "already" and "yet" (=giÃ )... and many other things I don't remember right now.

And there are a lot more tricky things, like negative questions (we use negative questions to sound "casual" and "polite", but in English they sound completely different), genderless pronouns (in Italian it's so simple, it just depends whether the noun is masculine or feminine, so death is a "she", and hate is a "he"), etc.

Anyway, don't think Italian is simple... it's really a mess. And there are a lot of regional differences, REALLY a lot. Just think that I hardly ever speak Italian, so I wouldn't say my Italian is very good at all.

Re: active

Avangi — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 04:55:25 GMT

MIA6

1. Active enmity or Active resistance. What does active mean here in those cases? If we take out 'active', does it make a difference in the words' meanings?

Where do you stand on topic X? Your position may represent e. or r. But if you get involved in a "political action group" or you join the underground militia, you become an activist. "Active" does not change the meanings of the nouns.

2. Contend: assert earnestly. Does it mean to state someting with confidence, or bring up a topic? I kinda don't know what assert means. Like affirmation means positive assertion. But what does assertion exactly mean?

"Assert" is stronger than "affirm." You might get a little "pushy." ("Affirm" is positive rather than negative. You're saying it's true rather than false.) I guess "assertion" can also be negative, or against something. We can say a person is contentious. If your definition is correct, contention would be stronger than assertion, and could be negative or positive.

3. Does mortgage mean like you buy a house, but you don't pay all the money at once, so you pay gradually. Then your house is like a mortgage that if you can't pay out the money, bank can have your house? I am not so clear on that, hope you can give me a easier definition to understand.

Your definition works fine for me, except you didn't mention paying interest, which is usually greater than the price of the house.