Negatives

Top

Not a valid choice.

Improper use of positive-negative elements in a normal negative context.

Back to question 1

Correct!

Proper use of positive-negative elements in a normal positive context.

A positive context pertains if no 'negative element' appears before the verbal nucleus. In this case, 'negative elements' are not allowed after it either. If the sense of what you what to convey requires a 'negative element' you should insert a "no" or another negative before the verbal nucleus.

Hints?

Back to question 1

Correct!

Proper use of positive-negative elements in a normal negative context.

A negative context pertains if a 'negative element' appears before the verbal nucleus. In this case, only 'negative elements' are allowed after the verbal nucleus, but they should not be interpreted as 'double negatives'.

Hints?

Back to question 1

Not a valid choice.

Improper use of positive-negative elements in a normal positive context.

Back to question 1

Not a valid choice.

Improper use of positive-negative elements in a normal negative context.

Back to question 2

Correct!

Proper use of positive-negative elements in a normal positive context.

A positive context pertains if no 'negative element' appears before the verbal nucleus. In this case, 'negative elements' are not allowed after it either. If the sense of what you what to convey requires a 'negative element' you should insert a "no" or another negative before the verbal nucleus.

Hints?

Back to question 2

Correct!

Proper use of positive-negative elements in a normal negative context.

A negative context pertains if a 'negative element' appears before the verbal nucleus. In this case, only 'negative elements' are allowed after the verbal nucleus, but they should not be interpreted as 'double negatives'.

Hints?

Back to question 2

Not a valid choice.

Improper use of positive-negative elements in a normal positive context.

Back to question 2

Correct!

Proper use of positive-negative elements in a normal positive context.

A positive context pertains if no 'negative element' appears before the verbal nucleus. In this case, 'negative elements' are not allowed after it either. If the sense of what you what to convey requires a 'negative element' you should insert a "no" or another negative before the verbal nucleus.

Hints?

Back to question 3

Not a valid choice.

Improper use of positive-negative elements in a normal negative context.

Back to question 3

Not a valid choice.

Improper use of positive-negative elements in a normal positive context.

Back to question 3

Correct!

Proper use of positive-negative elements in a normal negative context.

A negative context pertains if a 'negative element' appears before the verbal nucleus. In this case, only 'negative elements' are allowed after the verbal nucleus, but they should not be interpreted as 'double negatives'.

Hints?

Back to question 3

Not a valid choice.

Improper use of positive-negative elements in a normal negative context.

Back to question 4

Correct!

Proper use of positive-negative elements in a normal positive context.

A positive context pertains if no 'negative element' appears before the verbal nucleus. In this case, 'negative elements' are not allowed after it either. If the sense of what you what to convey requires a 'negative element' you should insert a "no" or another negative before the verbal nucleus.

Hints?

Back to question 4

Correct!

Proper use of positive-negative elements in a normal negative context.

A negative context pertains if a 'negative element' appears before the verbal nucleus. In this case, only 'negative elements' are allowed after the verbal nucleus, but they should not be interpreted as 'double negatives'.

Hints?

Back to question 4

Not a valid choice.

Improper use of positive-negative elements in a normal positive context.

Back to question 4

Not a valid choice.

Improper use of positive-negative elements in a normal positive context.

Back to question 5

Correct!

Proper use of positive-negative elements in a normal negative context.

A negative context pertains if a 'negative element' appears before the verbal nucleus. In this case, only 'negative elements' are allowed after the verbal nucleus, but they should not be interpreted as 'double negatives'.

Hints?

Back to question 5

Correct!

Proper use of positive-negative elements in a normal positive context.

A positive context pertains if no 'negative element' appears before the verbal nucleus. In this case, 'negative elements' are not allowed after it either. If the sense of what you what to convey requires a 'negative element' you should insert a "no" or another negative before the verbal nucleus.

Hints?

Back to question 5

Not a valid choice.

Improper use of positive-negative elements in a normal negative context.

Back to question 5

Correct!

Proper use of positive-negative elements in a non-standard negative context.

We call "sin", most 'comparative expressions', and the prefix "in-" 'non-standard' because they behave differently as negative elements establishing a negative context. They may come after the verbal nucleus and they may be cancelled by another negative element in the area before the verbal nucleus, an exception to the rule to avoid double negatives.

Hints?

Back to question 6

Not a valid choice.

Improper use of positive-negative elements in a non-standard positive context.

Back to question 6

Not a valid choice.

Improper use of positive-negative elements in a non-standard negative context.

Back to question 6

Correct!

Proper use of positive-negative elements in a non-standard positive context.

We call "sin", most 'comparative expressions', and the prefix "in-" 'non-standard' because they behave differently as negative elements establishing a negative context. They may come after the verbal nucleus and they may be cancelled by another negative element in the area before the verbal nucleus, an exception to the rule to avoid double negatives.

Hints?

Back to question 6

Correct!

Proper use of positive-negative elements in a normal negative context.

A negative context pertains if a 'negative element' appears before the verbal nucleus. In this case, only 'negative elements' are allowed after the verbal nucleus, but they should not be interpreted as 'double negatives'.

Hints?

Back to question 7

Not a valid choice.

Improper use of positive-negative elements in a normal positive context.

Back to question 7

Not a valid choice.

Improper use of positive-negative elements in a normal negative context.

Back to question 7

Correct!

Proper use of positive-negative elements in a normal positive context.

A positive context pertains if no 'negative element' appears before the verbal nucleus. In this case, 'negative elements' are not allowed after it either. If the sense of what you what to convey requires a 'negative element' you should insert a "no" or another negative before the verbal nucleus.

Hints?

Back to question 7

Not a valid choice.

Improper use of positive-negative elements in a normal negative context.

Back to question 8

Correct!

Proper use of positive-negative elements in a normal positive context.

A positive context pertains if no 'negative element' appears before the verbal nucleus. In this case, 'negative elements' are not allowed after it either. If the sense of what you what to convey requires a 'negative element' you should insert a "no" or another negative before the verbal nucleus.

Hints?

Back to question 8

Correct!

Proper use of positive-negative elements in a normal negative context.

A negative context pertains if a 'negative element' appears before the verbal nucleus. In this case, only 'negative elements' are allowed after the verbal nucleus, but they should not be interpreted as 'double negatives'.

Hints?

Back to question 8

Not a valid choice.

Improper use of positive-negative elements in a normal positive context.

Back to question 8

Correct!

Proper use of positive-negative elements in a non-standard negative context.

We call "sin", most 'comparative expressions', and the prefix "in-" 'non-standard' because they behave differently as negative elements establishing a negative context. They may come after the verbal nucleus and they may be cancelled by another negative element in the area before the verbal nucleus, an exception to the rule to avoid double negatives.

Hints?

Back to question 9

Not a valid choice.

Improper use of positive-negative elements in a non-standard positive context.

Back to question 9

Not a valid choice.

Improper use of positive-negative elements in a non-standard negative context.

Back to question 9

Correct!

Proper use of positive-negative elements in a non-standard positive context.

We call "sin", most 'comparative expressions', and the prefix "in-" 'non-standard' because they behave differently as negative elements establishing a negative context. They may come after the verbal nucleus and they may be cancelled by another negative element in the area before the verbal nucleus, an exception to the rule to avoid double negatives.

Hints?

Back to question 9

Correct!

Proper use of positive-negative elements in a non-standard negative context.

We call "sin", most 'comparative expressions', and the prefix "in-" 'non-standard' because they behave differently as negative elements establishing a negative context. They may come after the verbal nucleus and they may be cancelled by another negative element in the area before the verbal nucleus, an exception to the rule to avoid double negatives.

Hints?

Back to question 10

Not a valid choice.

Improper use of positive-negative elements in a non-standard positive context.

Back to question 10

Not a valid choice.

Improper use of positive-negative elements in a non-standard negative context.

Back to question 10

Correct!

Proper use of positive-negative elements in a non-standard positive context.

We call "sin", most 'comparative expressions', and the prefix "in-" 'non-standard' because they behave differently as negative elements establishing a negative context. They may come after the verbal nucleus and they may be cancelled by another negative element in the area before the verbal nucleus, an exception to the rule to avoid double negatives.

Hints?

Back to question 10

Grammatical notes for the drills in this page.

A similarity between Spanish and English is the existence of negative elements which provide a negative context when they are used in a sentence. A difference is the importance in Spanish of element position relative to the verbal nucleus, and the different role these negative elements play dependent on their location. Follow the 'Grammatical Notes' for a more detailed explanation.

This is a list of the most important pairs of 'negative --- positive' standard elements:

• "no" --- "si"
• "nada" --- "algo"
• "nadie" --- "alguien"
• "ningún/o/a/os/as" --- "algún/o/a/os/as"
• "nunca, jamás" --- "siempre, a veces"
• "tampoco" --- "también"
• "ni" --- "o"
• "ni....ni" --- "o....o"

The issues covered are:

1)- The use of positive-negative elements in the language.

In English the appearance of one 'negative element' anywhere in the sentence is enough to establish that it is enunciated in a negative context and more of these elements are forbidden to avoid a 'double negative'. In Spanish the context has to be established before the verbal nucleus, and likewise, double negatives are avoided within this area. A major difference is that negative insted of positive elements are mandatory in the area after the verbal nucleus, where they do not count as double negations, since they do not establish context there. An exception are what we call 'non-standard elements' (see below).

2)- The use of positive-negative elements in a normal positive context.

A positive context pertains if no 'negative element' appears before the verbal nucleus. In this case, 'negative elements' are not allowed after it either. If the sense of what you what to convey requires a 'negative element' you should insert a "no" or another negative before the verbal nucleus.

3)- The use of positive-negative elements in a normal negative context.

A negative context pertains if a 'negative element' appears before the verbal nucleus. In this case, only 'negative elements' are allowed after the verbal nucleus, but they should not be interpreted as 'double negatives'.

4)- The use of positive-negative elements in a non-standard positive context.

We call "sin", most 'comparative expressions', and the prefix "in-" 'non-standard' because they behave differently as negative elements establishing a negative context. They may come after the verbal nucleus and they may be cancelled by another negative element in the area before the verbal nucleus, an exception to the rule to avoid double negatives.

5)- The use of positive-negative elements in a non-standard negative context.

We call "sin", most 'comparative expressions', and the prefix "in-" 'non-standard' because they behave differently as negative elements establishing a negative context. They may come after the verbal nucleus and they may be cancelled by another negative element in the area before the verbal nucleus, an exception to the rule to avoid double negatives.

Back to question 1

Main Menu

Glossary for question #1 - Back to question?

• pretencioso: pretencious

• pedante: picky

Glossary for question #2 - Back to question?

• escuché: heard

• conferencia: lecture

• interesante: interesting

Glossary for question #3 - Back to question?

• ayuda: help

• tareas: homework

Glossary for question #4 - Back to question?

• actitud: attitude

• resolver: resolve

• problema: problem

• contribuir: contribute

• progreso: progress

• comunidad: comunity

Glossary for question #5 - Back to question?

• dicho: said

Glossary for question #6 - Back to question?

• Ahora: now

• canta: sings

• mejor: better

• conozca: know

• conservatorio: music school

Glossary for question #7 - Back to question?

• Esos: those

• alumnos: students

• incapacitados: uncapable

• leer: read

• texto: text

Glossary for question #8 - Back to question?

• aseguro: assure

• pareciese: looked alike

• fuese: would be

• sospechoso: suspicious

Glossary for question #9 - Back to question?

• Felizmente: happily

• entramos: entered

• viera: would see

Glossary for question #10 - Back to question?

• Seguramente: surely

• mejor: better

• amigos: friends

  Copyright 1996 Samuel Schiminovich.

  The text and the HTML formatting of these drills is covered by this copyright. One copy of this drill can be downloaded and/or printed for personal use. Unauthorized commercial use of these drills is forbidden, as well as reloading on servers or republishing under unauthorized URL addresses.

  ---

  Top