0
Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Negative sentences

Hello,

may I ask why is the 2nd sentence ungrammatical? What is the difference between them?

1) Peter gave nothing to anyone.
2) *Peter gave next to nothing to anyone.

And also when I use the phrase as black as coal - is the Adjective black pre-modified by as ? Or it isn't pre-modification?

Thank you
  

Top answer

Sentence 2 is not ungrammatical. It's fine. ) You'll need someone else to answer your other question, though.

— BarbaraPA

  • Sentence 2 is not ungrammatical.
  • It's fine.
  • ) You'll need someone else to answer your other question, though.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

7 Answers
0
Sentence 2 is not ungrammatical. It's fine. (As you probably know, he gave so little that it was only a tiny bit more than nothing at all.)

You'll need someone else to answer your other question, though.
0
0
Well, my grammar book says it is ungrammatical Emotion: big smile

Thank you anyway.
0
0
Hi,

GG is correct.

Clive
0
0
I don't know how I'm gonna explain my American teacher that he got it wrong but ok Emotion: big smile

Thank you guys.
0
0
Anonymous2) Peter gave next to nothing to anyone.
Hi,

As for the second sentence, it's grammatical, and you could substitute next to nothing for

almost nothing.

Regards
0
0
Perhaps you could smply ask your teacher what he sees as being incorrect about it?
0
0
It's homework for tomorrow. But I'll ask him after class.

Thank you for all your answers.
0

Related Questions