Collins Cobuild English Grammar (109 page)

Neither of the children were
there.

Broad negatives:
hardly
,
seldom
, etc.

5.80
    Another way in which you can make a statement negative is by using a
broad negative
. Broad negatives are adverbs like
rarely
and
seldom
, which are used to make a statement almost totally negative.

The estimated sales will
hardly
cover the cost of making the film.
We were
scarcely
able to move.
Kuwait lies
barely
30 miles from the Iranian coast.

Here is a list of the most common broad negatives:

barely

hardly

rarely

scarcely

seldom

position in clause

5.81
    The position of a broad negative within a clause is similar to that of
never
(see paragraphs
5.64
to
5.66
).

5.82
    When you use a broad negative with a verb phrase that contains an auxiliary verb, you put it after the first word in the verb phrase and in front of the main verb.

I
could scarcely believe
my eyes.
Religion
was rarely discussed
in our house.
His eyes
had hardly closed
.

with simple form of
be

5.83
    If the verb is the present simple or past simple of
be
, the broad negative usually comes after the verb.

Change
is seldom
easy.
The new pressure group
is barely
six months old.
The office
was hardly
ever empty.
The lagoons
are rarely
deep.
The results
were scarcely
encouraging.

with other verbs

5.84
    If the verb is the present simple or past simple of any verb except
be
, the broad negative usually comes in front of the verb.

He
seldom bathed
.
Marsha
rarely felt
hungry.
John
hardly
ever
spoke
to the Press.

It is also possible to put a broad negative after the verb, but this is less common.

Such moments
happen rarely
in life.
They
met
so
seldom
.

as first word in the clause

5.85
    In formal or literary English, a broad negative is sometimes placed at the beginning of a clause for emphasis. If you are using a verb phrase with an auxiliary, the first word in the verb phrase is placed after the broad negative, followed by the subject and then the remainder of the verb phrase.

Seldom has society offered
so wide a range of leisure time activities.
Hardly had he settled
into his seat when Adam charged in.

If there is no auxiliary, you put the present simple or past simple of
do
after the broad negative, followed by the subject, followed by the base form of the main verb.

Seldom did a week pass
without a request for assessment.
Rarely do local matches live up to
expectations.

Note that
barely
and
scarcely
are not often used in this way.

USAGE NOTE

5.86
    If you make a
question tag
out of a statement that contains a broad negative, the tag on the end of the statement is normally in the affirmative, as it is with other negatives. Question tags are explained in paragraphs
5.15
to
5.19
.

She’s hardly the right person for the job,
is she
?
You seldom see that sort of thing these days,
do you
?

You can modify
rarely
and
seldom
by putting
so
,
very
,
too
, or
pretty
in front of them. You can also modify
rarely
by using
only
.

It happens
so rarely
.
Women were
very seldom
convicted.
He
too seldom
makes the first greeting.
Most people go to church
only rarely
.

If you want to say there is very little of something, you can use a broad negative with
any
or with a word that begins with
any-
.

The bonds show
barely any
interest.
Hardly anybody
came.
In fact, it is
seldom any
of these.
With
scarcely any
warning, the soldiers charged.
Sometimes two or three relatives are admitted, but
rarely any
friends.

almost

5.87
    Instead of using a broad negative, you can use
almost
followed by a negative word such as
no
or
never
. For example,
There was almost no food left
means the same as
There was hardly any food left
.

They’ve
almost no
money for anything.
The cars thinned out to
almost none
.
They were very private people, with
almost no
friends.
Children
almost never
began conversations.

Emphasizing the negative aspect of a statement

at all

5.88
    You can add
at all
to a negative statement in order to make it more emphatic. You use
at all
with any negative word, with
without
, or with a
broad negative
.

She had
no
writing ability
at all
.
‘There’s no need,’ said Jimmie. ‘
None at all
’.
He did it
without
any help
at all
.
He
hardly
read anything
at all
.

Broad negatives are explained in paragraphs
5.80
to
5.86
.

whatsoever

5.89
    You can put
whatsoever
after
none
and
nothing
in order to emphasize the negative aspect of a statement.

‘You don’t think he has any chance of winning?’ – ‘
None whatsoever
.’
There is absolutely no enjoyment in that,
none whatsoever
.
You’ll find yourself thinking about
nothing whatsoever
.

If
no
is used as a determiner in a noun phrase, you can put
whatsoever
after the noun phrase.

There is
no
need
whatsoever
to teach children how to behave.
There was
no
debate
whatsoever
, not even in Parliament.

You can also use
whatsoever
in negative statements that contain
any
or a word that begins with
any-
.

You are not entitled to
any
aid
whatsoever
.
He was devoid of
any
talent
whatsoever
.
I knew I wasn’t learning
anything whatsoever
.

ever

5.90
    You can put
ever
after negative words in order to emphasize the negative aspect of a statement.

I can’t say I
ever
had much interest in fishing.
Nobody
ever
leaves the airport.
I never
ever
believed we would have such success.

other expressions

5.91
    There are several expressions that are used to emphasize a negative statement that contains
not
. These include
in the least
,
the least bit
,
in the slightest
, and
a bit
.

I don’t mind
in the least
, I really don’t.
Neither of the managers was
the least bit
repentant afterwards.
I don’t really envy you
in the slightest
.
They’re not
a bit
interested.

If
in the least
and
in the slightest
are used with verbs, they are placed either immediately after the verb or after the object, if there is one.

I wouldn’t have objected
in the least
.
She did not worry Billy
in the least
.
The weather hadn’t improved
in the slightest
.

If
in the least
is used with an adjective, it is put in front of it.
In the slightest
usually comes after an adjective.

I wasn’t
in the least surprised
.
She wasn’t
worried in the slightest
.

The least bit
and
a bit
are used only with adjectives and are placed in front of the adjective.

I’m not
the least bit worried
.
They’re not
a bit interested
.