Longman Dictionary of

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We didn’t hurt nobody!
In recent grammatical theory, interest has been shown in the scope of the
negator, that is, how much of the sentence is actually negated and in what
way the meaning of the sentence can change if the negator is put in a different
place, for instance, do the two sentences:
She didn’t think he could do it
and
She thought he couldn’t do it
really mean the same?
negative evidence n
see EVIDENCE
negative face n
the desire of persons that their desires and freedom of action not be
impeded.
see also POLITENESS
negative feedback n
see FEEDBACK, RECAST
negative politeness strategies n
see POLITENESS
negative question
negative pronoun n
a PRONOUN which stands for a negative NOUN PHRASE 1 . The following
words in English are negative pronouns:
nobody, no one, none, neither, nothing
For example:
Nobody has passed the test.
That’s none of your business.
Negative pronouns can function as NEGATORS.
negative question n
a question which includes a negative word or PARTICLE. For example,
Can’t you drive?
Isn’t it awful?
In English, negative questions are answered in the same way as positive
questions:
If you can drive If you can’t drive
Can you drive? Yes, I can. No, I can’t.
Can’t you drive?
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