4. Negation

A sentence is made negative by putting the particle NOT, which is the most widely used negator, immediately after the auxiliary or modal verb.

The negator NOT has 2 forms: uncontracted (do not) and contracted (don`t)

NOTE: formal am I not

Informal Aren`t I

Besides NOT there are other words that can serve as negators:

No, nobody, no one, none (of), nothing, nowhere, neither (of), never, neither …nor – N-negators

Assertive words are used in declarative sentences. Non-assertive in interrogative.

The assertive form is used when a specific meaning is required, whereas non-assertive forms make for a non-specific interpretation.

An assertive item some reflects a positive attitude, while any shows neutral or negative attitude.

Besides N-negators there are certain words which are negative in meaning but do not appear in negative form (semi-negatives, or broad negatives): hardly, scarcely, barely, few, little, rarely, seldom.

Double negative

When 2 negatives neutralize each other so the ultimate meaning of the sentence is positive.

Sometimes double negatives are used for the sake of emphasis

3.Modality.Oblique moods in simple sentences.

Modality is a speaker`s attitude towards a state of the world. Modality shows whether something is real or true. Among means of expressing modality is mood. Mood is the form of the verb which shows in what relation to reality the speaker places the action expressed by the predicate verb.

The Oblique moods express unreal (hypothetical) or problematic actions. Oblique mood forms (Subjunctive II, Conditional and Suppositional) distinguish the categories of aspect, correlation and voice, but they have no tense category. Perfect forms of Subjunctive II, the Conditional and the Suppositional Mood indicate priority to the action expressed by the indicative mood form in the principal clause. Consequently, perfect forms always express past actions: / wish I hadn't got into this mess. If there is no indicative mood form in the sentence, then a non-perfect oblique mood form directly refers the action to the present or future:

/ wouldn't do a thing like that without telling you. If wishes were horses beggars would ride.

Perfect oblique mood forms refer the actions to the past: Ten years ago, Maurice wouldn't have spoken like this. If we'd been caught last night — what would have happened to us?

Subjunctive II 1. Subjunctive II is used in exclamatory sentences beginning with 'Oh, that ...', If only ...':

Oh, that the storm were over! (present) If only Rowley had come! (past) Such sentences express wish or regret and are characteristic of literary style. 2. Subjunctive II is found in simple sentences with modal verbs. In the sentences referring to the present or future the modal verb in Subjunctive II is followed by a non-perfect infinitive, in the sentences referring to the past — by a perfect one: Could you come again tomorrow? You might have opened the door for me. 3. Subjunctive II is also found in simple sentences containing the modal phraseological expressions had better, had best, would rather, would sooner. Such sentences express preference or advice: I would rather know the painful truth than imagine it.

The Conditional Mood is used to denote unreal actions in simple sentences:

a) with an adverbial modifier of condition expressed by a but for-phrase : He would not have come, but for me. b) with implied condition : I wouldn't waste my time on rubbish in your place. c) to sound polite, less straightforward. Here the Conditional Mood differs from the Indicative only stylistically, the perfect Conditional expressing the highest degree of politeness.

In simple sentences only Subjunctive I is used in a few set expressions as a survival of old usage (the so-called formulaic expressions). 1. Most of them express a wish.

Subjunctive I in such expressions can be replaced by may + infinitive:

May success attend you! May your meeting be happy! May the Army live .long!

2. Some formulaic expressions have a concessive meaning.

3. The only productive pattern of a simple sentence with Subjunctive I is the sentence expressing a command or a request with an indefinite pronoun as the subject.

4. The Suppositional Mood is used only in one type of interrogative sentences beginning with 'And what if ... ?

.5. The subject. Ways of expressing the subject.

All finite sentences and clauses regularly contain a subject. This part of a sentence denotes an agent, an instrument, a recipient and other participants in an action. The subject is usually the topic of the sentence. The subject is characterized by the following formal features.

• It occurs with all types of verbs,

• is characteristically a noun phrase or a pronoun; also a numeral, a gerund, an infinitive, a predicative complex, a nominal clause,

• is in the nominative case of pronouns,

• characteristically precedes the verb phrase, but is obligatory placed after the operator in interrogative sentences, except when the subject is wh-word(Everybody has left for the day. Has everybody left of the day?),

• is reflected in a tag question by a pronoun form(The milk is sour, isn’t it?),

• determines the number and the person of the verb phrase in the present tense and in the past tense of the verb be(We were hungry),

• may correspond to a by-phrase in passive structures.

Structurally subjects can be of four kinds:

1. simple-expressed by a single word form(The fog is thinning)

2. phrasal-expressed by a phrase(Two and three is five)

3. complex-expressed by a predicative complex

- a for –to-infinitive construction(It’s easy for you to talk so)

- a gerundial complex (Your knowing a thing …)

4. clausal-expressed by a subject clause. (What I need is a piece of good advice).