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Not anything or Nothing - English lesson

NOT.... ANYTHING/ NOT... ANYBODY/ NOT... ANYWHERE

NOTHING/ NOBODY/ NOWHERE

  1) When it comes to expressing the absence of a product, of a person, or of a place, several different patterns can be used. The common constructions  for these negative statements are :  

  NOT... ANYTHING/ NOT... ANYBODY/NOT... ANYWHERE.

  The verb is then in the negative form, and logically, the pronoun MUST be in the affirmative form "ANY". Double negatives MUST absolutely BE AVOIDED; they're WRONG. 

    -         I'm quite sure he hasn't understood anything to what I said. (verb in the negative, pronoun in the affirmative)

-         There wasn't anybody at the desk when the shop opened.

-         He won't have anywhere to stay if he leaves his home. 

   2) The structure using NOTHING/ NOBODY/ NOWHERE  is more emphatic, more imperious than the preceding ones. In that case, as the pronoun is in the negative form, the verb must be in the affirmative (or simply omitted). NEVER USE A DOUBLE NEGATIVE ! It's a serious mistake. 

    -     He's so stupid! He understood nothing to what I said...(verb in the affirmative form, pronoun in the negative one. )

    -    How shocking! There was nobody at the desk when the shop opened! 

    -  If he leaves his home, he will really have nowhere to stay.

   3)  When you need to build a sentence using  the NEGATIVE + THING/ BODY/ WHERE  at the beginning of a clause, you then have to use: 

      NOTHING/ NOBODY/ NOWHERE:  thus, the emphasis is on the negative form.

   -         Nothing had changed since my grandparents' time.

-         Nobody offered to help him, which was quite shocking! 

This is an easy lesson ... provided you take great care of the risk of putting double negatives!     Good luck !                           

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1. 'No! I didn't fly nowheredidn't flew nowheredidn't fly anywhereI don't know for this holiday! I was stuck in bed with the flu...'
2. 'Where are you going, Patrick?' ' Not nowhereNot anywereNowhereI don't know ! I'm too tired to go out...'
3. 'Lucy, you remember! Don't speak to anybodySpoke to nobodyDon't spoke anybodyDon't speak to nobodyI don't know you don't know on your way to school...'
4. 'Really, Mom, nobody understoodnobody understandednot anybody understandI don't know what the teacher had said!'
5. I waited and waited for long minutes, but nobody camenot anybody comeanybody not cameanybody didn't cameI don't know.
6. 'Lucy, do you want to drink a hot chocolate, or a soda? ' 'Not nothingNot somethingNothingI don't know, Mom! Thanks!'
7. 'At the cinema, I couldn't see nothingcould saw nothingcouldn't see anythingI don't know because a huge man was sitting right in front of me...'
8.Yes Mom, I've looked for my phone and looked again, but I couldn't find it anywherecould find it anywherenowhere could find itI don't know .
9. 'Do you know if Clara has phoned when I was out?' 'Anybody didn'tNobodyNot nobodyAnybody notI don't know called.'
10. I've ever metI've never meet anythingI've never met anybodyNever I metI don't know who could speak so many foreign languages fluently.
11. 'I promise, I didn't said anythingsaid not nothingdidn't say anythingI don't know about our secret... I swear! Not nothingAnything notNothingI don't know at all! '