Negation: 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.

Negation of Adverbs in the English Grammar

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:

1.

never

2.

hardly (ever)

3.

scarcely

4.

seldom

5.

barely (ever)

6.

no longer

7.

little

Example

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:

Example

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.

Example

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.

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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:

1.

under/in no circumstances

2.

(in) no way

3.

on no condition

4.

at no time

5.

on no account

Example

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:


1.

Select all the negative adverbs. (Select five)

never

ever

hardly

definitely

often

eventually

seldom

occasionally

barely

no longer

2.

Choose the sentence that correctly places the negative adverb.

A

She wants no longer to pursue that career.

B

They can never agree on where to eat.

C

He is late for meetings hardly ever.

D

Seldom we are watching television these days.

3.

Identify the sentence that correctly uses a negative adverb at the beginning.

A

Never I have felt so inspired by a performance.

B

Hardly had they started the journey when it began to snow.

C

Seldom people appreciate true artistry.

D

Barely he could conceal his excitement during the interview.

4.

Match each word or sentence fragment with the correct ending.

Never had
They can no longer
She seldom
Barely had
I seen such talent.
afford to buy a house in this market.
goes to the gym these days.
the meeting begun when technical issues caused a delay.
5.

Sort the words to form a sentence.

you
out
go
circumstances
no
.
are
to
under

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