unit 1 the written word grammar and usage negative words and negative statements
TRANSCRIPT
Unit 1
The written word
Grammar and usage
Negative words and negative
statements
Look at the following sentences, Are these
sentences true? If not, how to correct
them?Money can buy happiness.Money can not buy
happiness.
Shanghai is not the capital
city of China. Beijing is
the capital city of China.
Shanghai is the capital
city of China.
Read the guidelines and answer.
1. Why are negative statements used?
2. What are the most commonly used
negative words?
To correct a mistaken idea.
The most commonly used negative
words are no, not, never, and neither.
3. What are the kinds of negative
statements?
(1) auxiliary verb + not
(2) not paired with other words
(3) other expressions: hardly, far fro
m, seldom, unless, would rather…th
an…and free from.
(4) Complete negation: using no,
neither, none or nothing to from
complete negation
(5) partial negation: words like all, both,
everyone and everything are used in
negative sentences
You might not (mightn’t) have been
written last week.Conclusion 1:
1) auxiliary verb + not
It’s the simplest kind and basic form
of negative statements, in which not or
n’t usually comes after the auxiliary ve
rb.
观察下面的例子,总结否定陈述的构成:
It’s not uncommon to find her reading
the newspaper. i.e.
(It’s quite common to find her
reading the newspaper.)
Conclusion 2:
2) not paired with other words
When used before a word with a neg
ative prefix (e.g. un-, dis-, or in-), the
meaning becomes positive, though n
ot as strong as a direct positive state
ment.
Tip :A negative statement may sometimes
have a positive meaning.
e.g. He didn’t leave anything to his son
but a big library of books.
Students are not discouraged to
discuss things with their classmates.
Your actions were not inexcusable, but
they were certainly not appropriate.
i.e. Your actions were excusable, but
certainly not appropriate.
It is not uncommon for him to be late.
Not many people heard the speech.
i.e. Very few people heard the speech.
When not used before a phrase of
time, distance or a noun phrase
including quantities, it serves to
emphasize the negative meaning of the
phrase.
Conclusion 3:Conclusion 3:
More examples:More examples:
1. It is not a long distance from the city
centre to the new railway station.
2. It will not be long before most people
around the world know how to use the
computer.
3. There were not many people present at
the meeting.
I wonder whether/ if I shouldn’t bring it.
i.e. I wonder whether/ if I should bring it.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t
move soon.
i.e. I wouldn’t be surprised if they
moved soon.
3) extra negative in if-clauses
Sometimes we use negative expressions
with the words whether and if to show
our doubt about a situation. These are
more casual and are usually used in
spoken English.
Conclusion 4:Conclusion 4:
Tip:Tip:
1. “I wonder whether/ if… ”is used when
considering something, concerning
oneself.
2. “I wouldn’t be surprised if…” is
used when considering something,
concerning people other than
oneself.
More examples:More examples:
1. I wonder whether/ if I shouldn’t get a
haircut.
2. I wonder whether/ if I shouldn’t buy a
new suit.
• Pip can hardly wait to begin his new life.
• The classics are far from disappearing.
• Pip’s sister seldom has a kind word to
say.
• Unless you read the novel yourself, you
will never know what happens at the end.
• Joe would rather die than see any harm
come to Pip.
Conclusion 5:Conclusion 5:
4) Using some negative words and
expressions.
Some common negative expressions are:
hardly, far from, seldom, unless, free
from, and would rather… than.
More examples:More examples:
1. The fortune sets him free from
financial worries.
2. You will not catch the early bus unless
you leave right now.
5) When words like all, both, everyone
and everything are used in negative
sentences, they form partial
negation.
Conclusion 6:Conclusion 6:
All that you find on the Internet is not
useful.
I didn’t take everything with me.
More examples:More examples:
总结:陈述句的否定形式主要有以下几种形式:1. not 加在情态动词、 be 动词等的后面e.g. She could not answer the question.
She is not a teacher.
2. 若谓语动词是行为动词,前面又没有 助动词或情态动词,需在谓语动词
之前加上助动词再加否定词 not 。e.g. She doesn’t want to go to the park.
I haven’t finished my homework.
3. 用带有否定意义的词来表示否定。 这类词有: no, none, nobody, nothin
g,
nowhere, neither, never, hardly, little,
few, seldom, barely, dislike, disagree,
useless, unimportant, out of ..., far
from..., too ... to 等。
e.g. No one is in the room.
He never tell lies.
He is anything but a writer.
This is a sentence free from
mistakes.
He is too ill to have been anywhere
but in bed.
另外要注意以下几种特殊情况:1. 1. 否定前移。否定前移。这类词有 think, believe, ex
pect 等 e.g. I don’t think he has time to play with
me.
I don’t believe he is right.
2. 2. 部分否定和完全否定。部分否定和完全否定。 表示部分否定常见的有 : not both , no
t all , not each / every 等。
e.g. Not both of the students are right. 表示完全否定常见的有: neither, none,
no 等。e.g. Neither of them is right.
No boy is absent.
Read the book report in part A and
circle any negative statements used in
this report.
For example:
1. … , experiences a childhood
without any parents.
2. …
Read the sentences in part B and
complete them using the given words.
Change the form where necessary.
not uncommon can’t…to…
would rather…than… not many
1. Many students ___________ read
contemporary novels ____ classics.
2. It is _____________ for students to
have difficulty understanding classics.
would rather
than
not uncommon
3. _________ students in my class
have read Oliver Twist, so I told them
the story.
4. You _____ be ____careful when
collecting these statistics.
Not many
can’t too
He pities Oliver, takes him home, and
tries to reform him.
The word reform here means ‘becom
e or make better by removing or putt
ing right faults, errors’.
变好,改善,改革
Language points
e.g. The law needs to be reformed.
法律需要进行改革。 She thought she could reform him.
她觉得她可以使他洗心革面。
考点考例
1. auxiliary verb + not (P8)
[ 考例 1]
There’s no light on — they _____ b
e at home.
A. can’t B. mustn’t
C. needn’t D. shouldn’t
选 A 。此处要用情态动词表推测,且用于否定句表示“肯定不……”,故 can’t 符合要求。 must 表推测时不用于否定句, mustn’t 表示“禁止,不许”; needn’t 不需要; sho
uldn’t 不应当。
[ 考例 2]
— My cat’s really fat.
— You ___ have given her so much
food.
A. wouldn’t B. couldn’t
C. shouldn’t D. mustn’t
选 C 。句意为:“我的猫真胖。” “你本不应该给她这么多的食物。” shouldn’t have done s
th. 本不应该做某事 ( 暗含做了 ) 。
[ 考例 3]
— What do you think we can do for our
aged parents?
— You _____ do anything except to be
with them and be yourself.
A. don’t have to B. oughtn’t to
C. mustn’t D. can’t
选 A 。 don’t have to 不必; ought
n’t to 不应当; mustn’t 禁止,不允许; can’t 不可能,不可以,不能。答语句意为:除了与父母呆在一起、做真实的你以外,你不必做任何事情,所以 don’t have to 为最佳选项。
[ 考例 4]
The biggest problem for most plants, w
hich __________ just get up and run a
way when threatened, is that animals li
ke to eat them.
A. shan’t B. can’t
C. needn’t D. mustn’t
选 B 。 can’t 表示“不能”。 A 项表将来; C 项意为“不必”; D 项意为“禁止”,都不正确。句意为:对于绝大多数受到威胁时不能站起来就跑的植物来说最大的问题是动物喜欢吃它们。
[ 考例 5]
We _____ have proved great adventur
ers, but we have done the greatest mar
ch ever made in the past ten years.
A. needn’t B. may not
C. shouldn’t D. mustn’t
选B。句意为:或许我们还没有证明是伟大的探险者,但我们已经取得了在过去的十年里最伟大的进展。 may
not have done sth. 或许还没做过某事;needn’t have done sth. 本没有必要做但做了某事; shouldn’t have done sth.
本不应该做但做了某事。
[ 考例 6]
I’m sure you’d rather she went to sch
ool by bus, _____?
A. hadn’t you B. wouldn’t you
C. aren’t I D. didn’t she
选 B 。在反意疑问句中,如果主句的谓语动词是 think, suppose, believe, ima
gine, be sure 等,且主语为第一人称时,反意疑问句要与后面的宾语从句一致。
2. There are many other negative
expressions. Some common ones are
hardly, far from, seldom, unless, free
from, and would rather ... than.
(P8)
[ 考例 ]
Never in my wildest dreams _____ these
people are living in such poor condition
s.
A.I could imagine B. could I imagine
C. I couldn’t imagine
D. couldn’t I imagine
选 B 。表示否定意义的词或短语,如 nev
er , hardly, seldom, little, few, by no mean
s, at no time 等位于句首时,主句部分使用倒装语序。
1. But for their help, we ____ the
program in time . A. can not finish
B. will not finish
C. had not finished
D. could not have finished
2. I can ________ be a teacher. I’m not
a very patient person.
A. seldom B. ever
C. never D. always
3. You and I could hardly work
together, ________?
A. could you B. couldn’t I
C. couldn’t we D. could we
4. Little ____ about her own safety, though
she was in great danger herself.
A. did Rose care B. Rose did care
C. Rose does care D. does Rose care
5. - Do you want another drink?
- ________.
A. I don’t think so B. No way
C. Not at all D. I wouldn’t say no
6. A small car is big enough for a family
of three ________ you need more
space
for baggage.
A. once B. because
C. if D. unless
7. It is often said that the joy of
traveling is _____ in arriving at your
destination______ in the journey itself.
A. 不填 ; but B. 不填 ; or
C. not; or D. not; but
8. It was hard for him to learn
English in a family, in which _____
of the parents spoke the language.
A. none B. neither
C. both D. each
9. He has made a lot of films, but
______ good ones.
A. any B. some
C. few D. many
10. The book is of great value. ____
can be enjoyed unless you digest it.
A. Nothing B. Something
C. Everything D. Anything
Homework
1. Go over the grammar and make
more negative statements.
2. Finish Part C1 and C2 on page
100 of the workbook.
3. Learn the useful words and
expressions by heart.