Negative Sentences

Ed McCorduckEnglish 402--GrammarSUNY Cortland http://mccorduck.cortland.edu

We will say that negative sentences, i.e., the negation of normal affirmative, declarative sentences, is accomplished through the negative transformation, which can formulated in this way:

subj + aux + MV

⇒

subj + aux + NOT + MV

slide 2: formulation of the negative transformation

English 402: Grammar

He has cut off his funny nose.subj aux MV

⇒

He has not (hasn’t) cut off his funny nose. aux MV

(occasionally: He’s not cut… )

The demonic dogs were removed by Animal Control. subj aux MV

⇒

The demonic dogs were not (weren’t) removed by Animal Control.

aux MV

slide 3: examples of applying the negative transformation

English 402: Grammar

That musical fiasco will close right away. subj aux MV

⇒

That musical fiasco will not (won’t) close right way.

aux MV

Her sympathy act is becoming tiresome.

subj aux MV

⇒

Her sympathy act is not (isn’t) becoming tiresome. aux MV

slide 4: more examples of applying the negative transformation

English 402: Grammar

If the underlying sentence does onot have an aux,

• if the MV is be, the not is inserted after the verb

His puns are corny.

MV

⇒

His puns are not (aren’t) corny. (occasionally, mostly spoken: His puns’re not

corny.)

slide 5: the negative of sentences whose MV is be

English 402: Grammar

• if the MV is not be, the do-support transformation applies before the negative transformation)

ex

underlying structure: Rhett gives a damn ⇒application of do-support: Rhett does give a damn ⇒application of negative transformation: Rhett does not give a

damn(doesn’t)

slide 6: the negative of sentences that do not have an aux nor MV be

English 402: Grammar

ex

underlying structure: They stunk up the place.

⇒

application of do-support: They did stink up the place.

⇒

application of negative transformation: They did not stink up the place.

(didn’t)

slide 7: another example of the application of do-support and negation to make a negative sentence

English 402: Grammar

slide 8: Reed-Kellogg diagrams of negative sentences

English 402: Grammar

Negative sentences are diagrammed like their corresponding emphatic sentences (see the “Do Support and Emphatic Sentences” lecture), i.e., the inserted form of do and the negative particle not are placed together with the main verb on the main horizontal line after the vertical subject/predicate divider line. For example, here is the Reed-Kellogg diagram of the Pattern VII (affirmative) sentence Rhett gives a damn:

slide 9: example of a Reed-Kellogg diagram of an emphatic sentence

English 402: Grammar

Here is the Reed-Kellogg diagram of the emphatic sentence Rhett does give a damn:

slide 10: example of a Reed-Kellogg diagram of a negative sentence

English 402: Grammar

And here is the Reed-Kellogg diagram of the negative sentence Rhett doesn’t give a damn: