Definition and Examples of Sentence Negation in English

Definition and Examples of Sentence Negation in English    In  English Grammar,  sentence negation  is a type of  negation  that affects the meaning of an entire  clause.  Also known as  sentential negation, clausal negation,  and  nexal negation. (In contrast, a negation that affects the meaning of just a single word or phrase is called  constituent negation- also known as  special negation  and  subclausal negation.) Sentence negation is commonly indicated in English by the  negative particle  not  (or its reduced form,  -nt). In  colloquial English, sentence negation may be indicated by phrases such as  like hell  and  no way. Examples and Observations Two Types of Sentence NegationIt is usual to distinguish between two types of non-affixal  sentence negation  in English: firstly, negation with  not  or  -nt; and secondly, negation with the negative words  never, neither, nobody, no, none, nor, nothing  and  nowhere. Tottie (1991), for example, terms the first type Not-negation and the second type No-negation. Quirk et al. (1985: 782) give a list of the negative words together with their corresponding non-assertive forms, pointing out that there are two negative equivalents for a positive sentence containing an assertive form: thus  Weve had some lunch   has the two negative forms  We havent had any lunch  and  Weve had no lunch  (Quirk et al. 1985: 782). In the same way, these authors tell us,  He sometimes visits us  has the two negative forms  He doesnt ever visit us  and  He never visits us.(Jenny Cheshire, English Negation From an Interactional Perspective.  Negation in the History of En glish, ed. by Ingrid Tieken-Boon van Ostade, Gunnel Tottie, and Wim van der Wurff. Walter de Gruyter, 1998) I did  not  cry or yell or  lie down on the pine floorboards and kick my feet.(Sarah Tomlinson,  Good Girl: A Memoir. Gallery Books, 2015)Its  not  the case that  I cant hold my own; I can.(Morris Philipson,  Secret Understandings.  Simon Schuster, 1983)I dont  think anybody is  in a position to give answers to social problems, definite, final answers.(Satyajit Ray in  Satyajit Ray: Interviews, ed. by  Bert Cardullo. University Press of Mississippi, 2007) Arson  isnt  difficult  to prove, but it can be very difficult to prove who committed it.I see whats going to happen. You only want to go to her. You want to get your share, after all. Youll leave me without a pang.Mrs Magaw stared. But wont  you be going too? When Mrs Taker sends for you?(Henry James,  Ã¢â‚¬ Fordham Castle, 1909)  My parents didnt  want to move to Florida,  but they turned sixty and thats the law.(Jerry Seinfeld)Never in my life  did I  remember Mama staying in bed past sunrise.(Jennifer Niven,  Velva Jean Learns to Drive. Plume, 2009)At no time  did I  feel threatened or in danger of violence.  At no time  did I  feel inclined to regard any of my colleagues as lazy or inept- or feel they were insinuating similar judgments about me.(Garret Keizer, Getting Schooled.  Harpers Magazine, 2012)  Exclamative Sentence Negation- In adult  colloquial  English,  exclamative  sentence negation  can be defined as the combination of an  idiomatic  word or phrase, e.g.,  No way, like hell, the hell, yeah right, my eye, bullcookies, nonsense,  with a sentence..., e.g.,  Like hell Al and Hilary are married, Al and Hilary are married, my eye.(Kenneth F. Drozd, Metalinguistic Sentence Negation in Child English.  Perspectives on Negation and Polarity Items, ed. by Jack Hoeksema et al. John Benjamins, 2001)- Shelby Boyd sidled up to Al Heakland and said under his breath, Its time to pay up, Al.Like hell, I will,  Heakland whispered in a stern tone.Like hell, you wont, said Boyd in the same tone of voice.(Ralph Cotton,  Showdown at Hole-In-the -Wall. Penguin, 2009)- My throats all tight, and  theres  no way  Im going to  cry in front of Ellery and Peyton.(Gail Nall,  Breaking the Ice.  Simon and Schuster,  2015)