LoginNegation: Adverbs
In this lesson we learn about negating adverbs, exploring advanced sentence structures and their effects on the tone and meaning of descriptions. Clear explanations and practice exercises to help you learn.
What Are Negative Adverbs?
Negative adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs to negate or deny the truth of a statement.
Negative Adverbs
Negative adverbs express different degrees of negation. For example, while adverbs like "never" and "no longer" express absolute negation, others like "hardly", "barely", and "seldom" express approximate negation. In other words, from a semantic perspective, they do not show a completely negative, but close to negative meaning; however, from a grammatical perspective, they negate the sentence, meaning the verb cannot be negative when they are used. Some of the most common negative adverbs in English are:
never
hardly (ever)
scarcely
seldom
barely (ever)
no longer
little
They seldom speak.
the verb if affirmative
I hardly go out.
Negative Adverbs: Placement
The negative adverbs usually appear before main verbs or after an auxiliary or modal verb. If there is more than one modal and/or auxiliary verbs in the sentence, the negative adverb comes after the first modal or auxiliary. They can also come before adjectives to modify them. Look at the examples:
He barely passed the exam.
before the main verb
He could never have hurt anyone.
after the first modal verb
They are hardly noticeable.
before the adjective
However, in formal or literary contexts, these adverbs can also appear at the beginning of the sentence. When they are used in this position, the subject and verb are inverted.
Never had I been so upset.
at the beginning of the sentence, the sentence can also take the form "I had never been so upset"
Hardly had she left the school when it started to rain.
Adverbial Phrases
Some adverbial phrases can be used to express absolute negation in sentences. These phrases have similar properties to negative adverbs, meaning the verb remains affirmative and the subject and verb are inverted if they are used at the beginning of the sentence. However, the initial position is more common for these phrases than the middle position. For example:
under/in no circumstances
(in) no way
on no condition
at no time
on no account
They are on no condition to be allowed to leave.
The verb remains affirmative.
Under no circumstances are you to go out.
When the adverbial phrase comes at the beginning of the sentence, he verb and subject are inverted .
No way will we be finished by five o'clock.
Review
In addition to negating verbs and nouns, adverbs can negate sentences as well.
Here are some adverbs and adverbial phrases that can make the sentence negative.
hardly (ever) | little | never | scarcely | seldom |
barely (ever) | no longer | under/in no circumstances | (in) no way | on no condition |
Quiz:
Select all the negative adverbs. (Select five)
never
ever
hardly
definitely
often
eventually
seldom
occasionally
barely
no longer
Choose the sentence that correctly places the negative adverb.
She wants no longer to pursue that career.
They can never agree on where to eat.
He is late for meetings hardly ever.
Seldom we are watching television these days.
Identify the sentence that correctly uses a negative adverb at the beginning.
Never I have felt so inspired by a performance.
Hardly had they started the journey when it began to snow.
Seldom people appreciate true artistry.
Barely he could conceal his excitement during the interview.
Match each word or sentence fragment with the correct ending.
Sort the words to form a sentence.
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