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What Are Negative Pro-forms?
Negative pro-forms are used to talk about the absence (non-existence) of people or things.
Negative Pro-forms: Types
Tip!
There are some uncommon negative words that are rarely used. Here is the list:
nowhence (adverb of source)
nowhither (adverb of purpose)
nowhen (adverb of time)
nowise (adverb of manner)
Negative Words in Positive Statements
Negative words are inherently negative, that is why they do not need another negative maker in a sentence. We use 'no one', 'nobody', 'nothing', and 'nowhere' with an affirmative singular verb. For example:
Nobody came.
Nothing happens in this town.
I knocked on the door but no one answered.
I have nowhere to live.
Negative Words in Negative Statements
Since the negative pro-forms are inherently negative, they negate the whole sentence and using another negative marker in the same sentence would form a double negative which is grammatically unacceptable.
✗ Nobody didn't come. → Nobody came.
✗ You shouldn't smoke nowhere in the building. → You shouldn't smoke anywhere in the building.
Negative Pro-forms in Questions
Negative pro-forms are not used in questions. Instead non assertive pro-forms are used to form interrogatives.
Is nobody here? → Is anybody here?
Does no one know the answer? → Does anyone know the answer?
When negative-pro-forms are used in a sentence, the verb remains positive, but the overall meaning of the clause becomes negative. So, the question tag must be positive.
There's nothing new about this, is it?
Negative Words: Agreement
Negative pro-forms are considered singular and accordingly take singular verbs.
'Neither" can be used as a pronoun or a determiner to refer to two people or things. In both cases it is followed by a singular verb. When it is used as a determiner, the following noun must also be singular.
I can think of two solutions, but neither is going to work.
Neither reason justifies the decision.
'No' and 'None of' are also negative determiners, but the difference between them is that 'no' is followed by a singular noun and singular verb while 'none of takes a plural noun or pronoun and a singular verb.
No man is able to escape the consequences of his actions.
None of us is able to escape the consequences of our actions.
In informal English, a plural verb might be used after 'none of'.
None of us care what happens to him.
Quiz:
Which sentence correctly uses a negative pro-form?
Nobody didn't see the accident.
No one answered the phone when I called.
You shouldn’t go nowhere without telling me.
Does no one have a pen?
Sort the words to form a sentence with a negative pro-form.
Match each incomplete sentence with the correct ending based on agreement of negative pro-forms.
Fill the blanks with the appropriate negative pro-form. (There are two extra options.)
knew the answer to the question.
the options seemed reasonable.
I have
to say about the matter.
word could express his feelings.
In the chaos of the conflict, there was
to hide.
Which sentence contains a mistake in using a negative pro-form?
No one has ever done this before.
I have nowhere to go after the event.
None of student knew the answer.
Nobody came to the party.
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