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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:
Select all negative pronouns from the list. (Select four.)
no
none
anyone
nobody
never
anything
nothing
neither
nowhere
something
Which sentence uses a negative pro-form correctly?
Nobody arrived at the meeting on time.
I didn’t see nothing in the room.
He didn’t meet nobody there.
Is no one here?
sort the words to form a sentence with a negative pro-form.
Match each negative pro-form with the correct option according to rules of agreement of negative pro-form.
Fill in the blanks with the appropriate negative pro-form. (There is one extra option.)
She invited everyone to the party, but
showed up.
I received two job offers, but
is suitable for my career goals.
the proposals were accepted by the committee.
There is
left in the fridge, so we’ll need to go shopping.
She has
reason to doubt his honesty.
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