 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
224
As they also make the whole sentence negative they have the same effect on the sentence as other negators,
that is exclude other negators.
a) The pronoun some and its derivatives are changed to any or its derivatives.
The rain continued with scarcely any pause.
He hardly thinks of anything else.
b) The adverbs sometimes and already are changed to ever and yet respectively.
Mrs. Greene hardly ever plays tennis now.
c) They are generally followed by positive, not negative, tag question.
She scarcely seems to care, does she?
Little and few have the same effect on sentences.
There’s little point in doing anything about it, is there?
§ 30. Double negatives are sometimes possible in standard English, but only if both negative words have
their full meaning and this serves for the sake of emphasis.
You’ve no reason not to trust me.
Do you think Julius will try to see you? - No, he won’t. But he won’t try not to either.
She wouldn’t like to live in a place not so nice.
John hadn’t been a crime reporter for nothing.
Not only would he do nothing to advance them; he impeded them.
It’s not only not important, it’s not a fact.
In standard English double negatives, rare as they are, may neutralize each other and then the ultimate
meaning of the sentence is positive.
You’ve no reason not to trust me (= You must trust me).
I just couldn’t do nothing (= I had to do something).
By removing one of the negators the sentence is made negative in meaning.
I just could do nothing.
PARTS OF THE SENTENCE
§ 31. Almost every sentence can be divided into certain components which are called parts of the sentence.
Parts of the sentence are usually classified into main and secondary. The main parts of the sentence are
the subject and the prediate. They constitute the backbone of the sentence. The secondary parts of
the sentence are the object, the attribute, the apposition and the adverbial
modifier. The secondary parts of the sentence modify the main parts or each other.
Besides these two kinds of sentence components there are so-called independent elements, that
is, elements standing outside the structure of the sentence, and therefore of lesser importance. The independent
elements are parenthesis and direct address.
Ways of expressing parts of the sentence
§ 32. Any part of the sentence may be expressed in four ways, that is, by a single word-form or a word-form
preceded by a formal word, by a phrase, by a predicative complex, or by a clause. The only exception is the