|
Lesson |
|
|
14. WHAT ARE AFFIRMATIVE AND NEGATIVE SENTENCES?
A sentence can be classified as to whether it states that a fact or situa- tion is or is not true.
An affirmative sentence states that a fact or situation is true; it affirms the information it contains. Spain is a country in Europe. John will work in the university. They liked to travel. A negative sentence states that a fact or a situation is not true; it denies or negates the information it contains. A negative sentence includes a word of negation such as no, not, or nobody Spain is not a country in Asia. John will not work in a factory. They did not like to travel.
IN ENGLISH An affirmative sentence can become a negative sentence in one of two ways: 1. by adding the word not after certain verbs Affirmative —~ Negative John is a student. John is not a student. Mary can do it. Mary cannot do it. They will travel. They will not travel.
Frequently, the word not is attached to the verb and the letter “o” is replaced by an apostrophe; this new word is called a contraction.
John isn’t a student. is not
Mary can’t do it. cannot
They won’t travel will not
Note that the contraction of will not is won’t
48
2. by adding the auxiliary verb do, does, or did + not + the dictionary form of the main verb. Do or does is used for negatives in the pre- sent tense and did for negatives in the past tense. (See What is the Present Tense?, p. 60 and What is the Past Tense?, p. 62.) Affirmative We study a lot. Julia writes well. The plane arrived. —> Negative We do not study a lot. Julia does not write well. The plane did not arrive.
Frequently do, does, or did form a contraction with not: don ‘t, doesn ‘t, or didn’t
IN SPANISH The basic rule for turning an affirmative sentence into a negative sen- tence is much more simple than in English. You merely place no in front of thç conjugated verb. Affirmative Estudiamos mucho. We study a lot. Julia escribe bien. Julia writes well. El avión llegó. The plane arrived. —i Negative No estudiamos mucho. We do not study a lot Julia no escribe bien. Julia doesn’t write well. El avión no llegó. The plane didn’t arrive.
Careful Remember that there is no equivalent for the auxiliary verbs do, does, or did in Spanish; do not try to include them in a negative sentence.
Negative Answers
When answering a question negatively in English, both no and not will often appear in the answer. Do you live near the park? No, I do not live near the park. Since both no and not have the Spanish equivalent no, the word no will appear twice in the negative answer to that question in Spanish.
49
~Vives cerca del parque? No, no vivo cerca del parque. I I no not
The first no answers the question; it has the English equivalent of no. The second no accompanies the verb; it has the English equivalent of not. |
|
