The ESL HELP! Desk

Today we continue our lessons on nouns and pronouns. It is for beginners and intermediate learners of English.

We begin with written activities.  You can print out the exercises below and complete them.  After you complete the activities and when you are ready to check your answers, go to our "Answer Key" shelf located in "Our Library".

In our Library, you can locate the lesson One, Two, Three Little Countable Nouns. You may want to review that lesson before you begin today with the exercises.

A Double Negative Is...

What's wrong with this sentence?

Problem: He didn't regret nothing that he had done in his life.

What Is a "Double Negative"?

The words anything, nothing, anyone, anybody, and nobody are all pronouns.  Of these, nothing and nobody are negative pronouns.

Standard English avoids using what we commonly call double negatives.

In the problem sentence below, notice that the main verb (didn't regret) is negative.   Notice that the object of the verb, nothing, is also negative. This is not correct.

Problem:  He didn't regret nothing that he had done in his life.

Solution #1:   He didn't regret anything that he had done in his life.
Solution #2:   He regretted nothing that he had done in his life.

Of the two solutions, #1 is more common.  Solution #2 is very strong.

In the problem sentence below, the subject is negative and the verb is also negative.  This is another "double negative" situation and as the sentence is written, it is not correct. Try to correct it. There is only one acceptable solution here:

Problem:  Nothing cannot stop him from doing what he thinks is right.
        Solution:  

Both sentences of each pair below have about the same meaning:

1a.	I think that there is nothing wrong with praying.
positive verb       negative pronoun
b	I don't think that there is anything wrong with praying.
negative verb                         positive pronoun
2a.	They don't want to do anything.
negative verb          positive pronoun
b.	They want to do nothing.
positive verb    negative pronoun

Is This Double Negative Illegal?

    

Determine if the sentence has an illegal double negative!

Try THESE!                                              Positive or Negative?
                                                                      Verb            Pronoun
1.  I didn't eat anything all day.                     _________    _________
2.  I ate nothing all day.                                _________     _________
3.  Nobody could control him.                        _________     _________
4.  He couldn't be controlled by anybody.        _________     _________
 

It's Your Turn

 Below are some sentences that students of English have written.  Each sentence has one error with double negatives. Now it's your turn to show us what you've learned!

1.  He didn't regret nothing that he had done in his life.

2.  When I am running, I feel that nothing cannot stand in my way.

3.  Tom Hagen doesn't say nothing about Michael Corleone's whereabouts.
 

You will find the answers in our "Answer Key".

Next.... some

Continue with a lesson on the pronoun some.

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