Assertive and nonassertive usage

Hi,

I can't quite grasp this grammatical feature. What does it mean that some items are assertive (such as plenty of, a few, a little, a good many), whereas some are nonassertice (manu, much)?

I've never heard of this feature. I wonder if it means that some terms sound more subjective, ie show the speaker's point of view, more t

I too am interested in those references/details.

Typically assertive means associated with affirmative (positive) declarative sentences.
Nonassertive means associated with other kinds of sentences or clauses, most often negative statements, questions, and subordinate clauses, especially if clauses.

I see this most easily with a good many:

I have a good many books in my library.
But not
I

Thanks CJ.

This can be found, for example, on "A student's grammar of the English language" by Greenbaum and Quirk.
Examples there are:
We need plenty of time. (Assertive)
~We don't need much time. (Nonassertive)
She has written a many good poems. (Assertive)
~She hasn't written many poems. (Nonassertive)

But this isn't always a valid rule, I surmise. I mean

I believe the author is saying that the assertive forms are not used in nonassertive contexts.
That doesn't mean that the forms you substitute for the assertive forms when the context is nonassertive (like many) cannot be used in assertive contexts.

You can have Many students attended the concert, for example.

So it's not that the 'rule' is invalid. It's t