MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND RESEARCH [623107]

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND RESEARCH
REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
CHIȘINĂU "ION CREANGĂ" STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures
English Philology Chair

Golban Elena

WAYS OF TEACHING NEGATION AT THE
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

GRADUATE THESIS

Scientific adviser:
Smochin Olga
University Lecturer

Chișinău – 2019

3
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………… 4
CHAPTER I. THE SYNTAX OF NEGATION ………………………….. ………………………….. .. 7
1.1. Definition of Negation ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………………… 7
1.2. The Negation System ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………………… 11
1.3. Types of Negation in English ………………………….. ………………………….. ………….. 14
1.4. The most common way to form negation in English ………………………….. ……….. 21
1.5. The meaning of Negation ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………… 22
1.6. The Scope of Negation ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………………. 23
1.7. Differences between negative particles ………………………….. …………………………. 24
1.8. Negatives‘ contracted forms ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………. 26
1.9. Negative Structures ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………… 28
Chapter II. THE ANALYSIS OF WAYS OF TEACHING NEGATION AT THE
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. 32
2.1. General information about grammar ………………………….. ………………………….. …. 32
2.2. Methodological Aspects of Teaching Negation ………………………….. ………………. 33
2.3. Activities Applied for Teaching Negation to the Intermediate Level …………….. 47
Chapter III. EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF SPEAKING ACTIVITIES …………….. 54
3.1. Description of the course of the experimental work ………………………….. ………… 54
3.2. Results of the experiment ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………… 62
CONCLUSIONS ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. …………… 66
Bibliography ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………… 69
Appendixes . ………………………….. ………………………….. ………………………….. ……………………. ..

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INTRODUCTION

When we teach the English language, we teach all the aspects of this
language including grammar. The first thing that we teach in grammar is the
affirmative, negative and interrogative forms of a verb or expression.
So, this thesis is dedicated to a deep study of the ways of teaching negation
at the intermediate level. It comprises the forms of negation and an experiment to
prove the effectiveness of proposed methods at different levels.
Negatives are a really important thing to understand and always a high
priority target if a pupil is struggling with them. If the learners don‘t know that
there‘s a difference between ―push‖ and ―don‘t push‖ they can immediately see
that it can lead to all sorts of problems! Occasionally , the teachers can confront
with the fact that the students have great difficulty in comprehending sentences
containing a negative word or words. Their degree of comprehension in both
reading and listening usually shows downward curves when they encounter a
paragraph which contains negation. Negative expression in English has several
knotty expressions such as sentence negation, word negation, double negation,
resumptive negation, conditional negation, implied negation, etc., each one in itself
a barrier of their quick understanding. It is very simple and clear for a native
speaker to use the word `no' in his reply, when the answer is negative. But it takes
time fo r the students to use `no' correctly without hesitation, even if they know the
sentence is negative.
Negation has proven to be one of the core topics in syntactic and semantic
theories. It is interesting for many reasons: it is present in every language in the
world; it exhibits a range of variation with respect to the way it can be expressed or
interpret ed; it interacts with many other phenomena in natural language; and
finally, due to its central position in the functional domain, it sheds light on various
syntactic and semantic mechanisms and the way these different grammatical
components are connected.

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This thesis focuses on four different phenomena that have dominated the
study of negation over the last decade. In this research the most efficient methods
to teach grammar and negation as an integral part of the English grammar at the
intermediate level are described .

The object of the work is the analysis of methods of teaching negation at
different degrees and their peculiarities.

The thesis aim is to investigate the most effective methods and procedures
to teach negative form at 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th degrees.

To achieve the aim the following objectives have been set:
1. To overview the grammar rules.
2. To determine how the negation is formed and used.
3. To analyze special language features of the negation.
4. To analyze difficulties in teaching negatio n.
5. To identify the most effective methods in teaching negation at the
intermediate level.
Relevance of the work . There are quite many linguists who analyzed the negation
such as Betty Schrampfer Azar , Mineko Tsukiyama, Matti Miestamo , Amber
Hodgson, Raymond Murphy, Martin Hewings, Mark Lester, D. Hopkins, P.
Cullens , John Eastwood.
The research methods used in the present study are the following:
1. The m ethod of description ;
2. The m ethod of observation ;
3. The m ethod of classification ;
4. The a nalytical method;
5. The method of compact selection;
6. The method of generalization;

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The structure of the present research . The work is composed of:
1. Introduction – includes the aim, the object, the objectives and the methods used
for the investigation, the relevance of the work and a general view about the
research.
2. Three Chapters:
a) Chapter I – The theoretical part – includes theoretical information about
negation, strategies, methods and techniques of teaching negation, classification
criteria. In addition, peculiarities of grammar, lexical and complex
transformation; stylistic problems of translation and characteristics of effective
methods were analyzed.
b) Chapter II – The Analysis of Ways of Teaching Negation at the Intermediate
Level – deals with the analysis of ways of teaching negation and the examples.
First subchapter tells about the methods‘ classification of teaching negation.
Second subchapter illu strates the peculiarities of teaching negation for each
form of intermediate level.
c) Chapter III – Experimental analysis of teaching negation at the intermediate
level – contains an experiment in order to analyze the most efficient methods
for teaching nega tion.

3. Conclusion – gives general notes about the results of the investigation and
how the objectives were achieved.

4. Bibliography – consists of all documented sources to complete the
theoretical chapter.
5. Appendixes – consist of some examples with negation , which have been
analyzed in the work.

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CHAPTER I. THE SYNTAX OF NEGATION
1.1. Definition of Negation
Negation is a universal linguistic notion. Indeed, it is one of the most basic
elements in human mind that makes it an indispensible part of natural languages
which are the tools for human thoughts. Every language has negative particles or
expressions; statements that involve negative particles are called negative
statements. As it is known, negation is the opposite of affirmation; (positive and
negati ve) one sentence or statement can be the negation or denial of another. Thus,
negation is the process of making a sentence negative usually by adding negative
particles within the structure. All languages have their own rules to change the
statement from a ffirmative to negative. According to Gleason , this allows us to
discuss what is not happening, or what we do not want. Bloom suggests that when
children are learning a language, it is likely that they learn to produce and
distinguish between two basic type s of sentences: the affirmative and the negative.
[37]
Negation is a fundamental linguistic phenomenon for the whole language
system. It appears at different semantic and syntactic levels and has different
purposes or meanings. [10, p.126]
Negation is an essential part of everyday commun ication. It is, in the words
of Horn , ‗what makes us human, imbuing u s with the capacity to deny, to
contradict‘. [17, p. 129]
Further, as Dahl (1979) observes in his linguistic typology of negation, there
is substantial cr oss-linguistic evidence to suggest that grammatical negation is a
universal category. [35]
Negation in English is a very broad topic, it affects words, phrases and
sentences. ―All human systems of communication contain a representation of
negation. No animal communication system includes negative utterances, and
consequently none possesses a means for assigning truth value, for lying, for irony,
or for coping with false or contradictory stateme nts‖ affirmed Horn . [16, p.121]

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That is, negation is a unive rsal linguistic category: All languages have the
concept of negation. Even if the negative operator itself (e.g. English not) is
excluded, the concept of negation is presupposed by many other elements. For
example, verbs such as deny and refuse that take n on-interrogative clausal
complements and license negative polarity items (elements that require a nega tive,
or interrogative context) such as at all , ever, and anything , involve negation of
alternatives. The same holds for prepositions such as without .
a. He denied that he had done it. He claimed that he had not done it.
b. He refused to do it. He did not do it.
Further examples include children playing pretend, irony and sarcasm, lies and
deceit, etc. [9, p. 27 -28]
Thus, negat ion is undoubtedly in the language of thought and therefore it
must also be in logical form as the feature, and in turn, therefore also in the syntax
and hence, also in the lexicon; recall that the meaning representation is derived
from a lexical array taken from the lexicon. [28, p.254]
Negation is a linguistic, cognitive, and intellectual phenomenon. Ubiquitous
and richly diverse in its manifestations, it is fundamentally important to all human
thought. As Horn and Kato put it: ―Negative utterances ar e a core feature of every
system of human communication and of no system of animal communication.
Negation and its correlates – truth -values, false messages, contradiction, and irony
– can thus be seen as defining characteristics of the human species.‖ [17, p. 53]
Cognitively (Cognitive Linguistics), negation is elementary offline thinking;
it involves some comparison between a ‗real‘ situation lacking some particular
element and an ‗imaginal‘ situation that does not lack it. The particular element in
focus anchors and contextualizes the negative element (which, being constrained
by grammar, frequently doesn‘t provide enough information for a listener to
determine what its focus is intended to be). There are many different
conversational ( Story a nd Discourse ) and written ( Writing a nd Reading) strategies
for indicating and interpreting focus elements, and even more for modulating them.
[2, p.89 -90]

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In natural language, negation functions as an ‗operator‘, along with
quantifiers (Quantification) and modals (Modality); operators are more basic and
have more properties than ordinary predicates or functors. In particular, operators
have a ‗scope‘; that i s, there is always some other element – either assumed or
verbally present in the discourse – to which a negative, modal, or quantifier refers.
That linked element is said to be ‗the focus‘ or to be ‗in the scope‘ of the negative
(or modal; quantifiers are said to ‗bind‘ rather than ‗focus on‘ another element).
[1, p.50 ]
Negation produces significant complexities and occasional ambiguities when
it interacts with other scope operators, because the scopes can get twisted about.
E.g.: Every boy didn’t leave i s ambiguous.
Depending on the relative scopes of the negative ‗didn’t ’ and the quantifier every
(rather like : Every boy read some book , where two different quantifiers produce
ambiguity). [25, p.119]
Negation means that you add something into a sentence that negates, or
reverses, the meaning of that sentence. In English, there are two main ways that
you can do this. The first is to add ―not‖ to the verb, and the second is to add ―no‖
to the noun. One way to fo rm negation is adding ―n‘t‖ or ―not‖ to a word in the
sentence, like these examples:
E.g.: The movie was not good .
The addition of the word not (or, alternatively, changing was not to wasn‘t)
means that you reverse the meaning of the rest of the sentence. The above means
that, in fact, the movie was terrible. [5, pag.137]
The second way to form negation is used when we use a word that means
something opposite. For example, if you have negative words like never, neither,
nobody, no, none, nor, nothing and no where. If you use these words in a sentence,
you know that the meaning of the sentence is also reversed. For example:
E.g.: ―There are no more drinks in the fridge .‖ This means that the fridge is
empty of drinks. [5, p.138]

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For any given sentence, that means that there are generally two ways that
you can negate it, or say the opposite. If I say that everyone wants to try the new
ice cream shop, someone else can contradict me by saying:
E.g.: Everyone does not want to try the new ice cream shop.
No one wants to try the new ice cream shop.
The first example uses the not negation, and the second example uses the negative
word negation. [5, p.139]
In more colloquial speaking, you can add a phrase or exclamation that
negates what you will say either b efore or after the sentence. These expressions
include: No way, like hell, the hell, yeah right, my eye, bull cookies, and
nonsense. Refer to the following examples:
E.g.: No way Bobby will actually go through with the challenge.
You can recite the names of all the presidents in 30 seconds? Yeah right!
In some of these cases, especially ‗yeah right ‟, the spoken tone of the expression is
very important. For that phrase, for example, you must sound more sarcastic and
disbelieving, because your meaning is actually the opposite of what the words
mean. If you say it with too straight a face, others will b e very confused as to what
your true thoughts are. [18, p.69]
Negation in English is a very broad topic, it affects words, phrases and
sentences. Many of comments are restricted to the simple sentence level; that is to
the mean of constructing negative rat her than affirmative (positive) simple
sentences:
Affirmative Negative
Carol likes to fish. Carol does not/doesn‘t like to fish.
Daniel is an editor. Daniel is not/isn‘t an editor.
Robby can cook well. Robby cannot/can‘t cook well.
We also deal with the meaning and use of negation in English. As we know,
negation can be met in negative questions , negative commands and negative
compound/complex sentences. [22, p. 97]

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1.2. The Negation System
I. The lexical level
At the word or lexical level, one can simply use a negative affix in English
to convey negativity. The way to make many adjectives and adverbs negative is to
add a negative derivational prefix to a word
E.g: Happy unhappy
Appropriate inappropriate
Possible impossible
Logical ilogical
Relevant irrelevant
Ordered disordered
Typical atypical Happily unhappily
Appropriately inappropriately
Possibly impossibly
Logically illogically
Relevantly irrelevantly
Orderely disorderly
Tipically atypically
The variety derives in part from the fact that different affixes were borrowed
from different languages. For example, while un- is a native English prefix, in-
with its allomorphs (different forms of the same morpheme), im-/il-/ir- come from
Latin, dis- comes from Greek and a- from Greek through Latin.
Other parts of speech can also take some of these prefixes to make them
negative; dis- combines with verbs to make dislike and distrust . [11, p.184]
The negative prefix non- is used to form certain nouns and adjectives:
Nouns Adjectives (non- + verb)
Non- + sense = nonsense non- + drip = non-drip (as a non -drip paint)
Some of these prefixes can have more than one meaning. Un- for instance,
does not always indicate negativity. Consider werbs such as unfasten, unwrap in
which the un- means a reversal of the process denoted by the stem. The use of the
un- to signal this other meaning, meaning, however is not as frequent as the use of
the un- prefix to mean „not‖ with all the gradable adjectives (those denoting a
property that can be possessed in varying degrees) as in unreasonable, unwise and
unkind. Nevert heless, un- is still subject to various restrictions, in particular, it is

12
not used where some etimologically unrelated opposite is available (we say bad
not ungood ), where some other less -productive prefix is established ( disloyal rather
than unloyal ). [11, p.184]
Determining which prefix to use with which stem is not always predictable.
Further, the rules about which negative prefix to use with when more than one is
possible are not absolute, but we can make the following generalization : in-, dis-,
un- tend to be pejoratively evaluative of the stems to which they attach, while non-
and a- prefixes are more descriptive or objective ( Horn 1989 ). Some minimal pairs
that illustrate this contrast are:
Pejorative/Evaluative Descriptive/O bjective
 Irrational – nonrational
 Disbeliever – nonbeliever
 Unprofitable – nonprofit
 Immoral – amoral [26, p.123]
Certain indefinite pronouns and an adverb beginning with no- can also be
used to give a negative meaning:
E.g.: no + thing = nothing Nothing has been done
no + where = nowhere They were nowhere to be seen.
Other formally negative items are the negative adverb of frequency never
(not + ever) , the negative coordinating conjunction nor (not + either). Functional
items that are not formally marked for negation b ut that show negativity are the
quantifiers a little and a few, the negative adverbial subordinator of conditionals
unless, the negative adverb of time yet, the negative intensifier too, and adverbs of
frequency seldom, rarely, scarcely and hardly. There are also lexical items that
Jespersen (1917) calls ―inherent negatives‖. There are content words that have a
negative meaning but that appear positive in form ( e.g.: fail, forget, lack, exclude,
absent). [21, p.34]

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II. The Phrase Level

At the phrase level, no can function as a negative determiner in a noun
phrase:
E.g.: I am surprised that no alternative was proposed.
No plans have been made.
Many idioms take this form ( e.g.: no way, no wonder, no sweat ). Another common
idiomatic phrase with no is no + gerund, which may be used to indicate that
something is prohibited – no smoking, no parking, no running – or unexpected, such
as no kidding, no fooling.
Before infinitive verbs in infinitive phrases ( e.g.: a sequence of to + verb
that follows an inflected verb), not is used to make the phrase negative:
E.g.: Mary has decided not to pay her income tax this year.
Although prescriptively prohibited, we have noticed that many native
speakers of English will spli t the infinitive with the negative particle in an
infinitive phrase, presumably to emphasize the negative action in the phrase:
E.g.: Mary has decided not to pay her income tax this year. [11, p.185 -186]

III. The Sentence Level
Here we deal with negation in statements, returning to negation in other
simple sentence types as well as compound and complex sentences (in examples of
reported speech).
Not is the main sentence -level negator:

Not Not, contracted (more common)
Statements John is not at home. John isn‘t at home.
Questions Are you not going? Aren‘t you going?
Commands Do not move! Don‘t move!
Exclamations Is that not grand! Isn‘t that grand!

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However, no are also make a sentence negative, especially when it negates the
subject:
E.g.: No one was home to sign for the package.
No and not are also negative substitutes. No can be a negative substitute for
entire sentences:
E.g.: A: Are you going to town after class?
B: No, I have got to meet Larry in the library.
and not can substitute for a negative subordinate clause (parallel to substituting for
an affirmative subordinate clause):
Are you coming? If not, please let me know.
If so, please bring something to drink .
I think not.
Are you coming? I think so [11, p.186]

1.3. Types of Negation in English
This is a very brief introduction to negation. The point is to establish
sentential negation which will be one of the main topics of this dissertat ion. For a
comprehensive analysis of negation .
1. Auxiliary Negation
There is a negation rule in English: If we want to state that something is not
true, we can form a negative sentence by adding the word ―not‖ after the first
auxiliary verb in the affirmative sentence. If there is no auxiliary verb in the
affirmative sentence, as in the Present Simple and Past Simple tenses, we will add
one with the word ―not‖ after it. When an auxiliar y verb is added like that, the
main verb must be in the infinitive form (no ‗ -s‘ or ‗ -ed‘ ending).
Nowadays, when looking at a negative sentence, we usually see the auxiliary
verbs with ‗not‘ in contracted forms, not in full forms. Full forms are used in v ery
formal cases or when we want to emphasize. Contractions of negated auxiliary

15
verbs in English are formed by reducing the negative particle ‗not‘ to n't, a clitic or
suffix which is fused to the root verb form.
Examples include isn't, aren't, wasn't, w eren't (from be), hasn't, haven't,
hadn't (from have), won't, wouldn't (from will), shan't, shouldn't (from shall), can't,
couldn't (from can), mayn't, mightn't, and mustn't (from may). And we should
remember that there is no standard contraction for ‗am n ot‘. This is known in
Linguistics as the "amn't gap". All conjugations of ‗be‘ are subject to contraction
even when used in a non -auxiliary sense. Ex: ―He isn‘t my teacher.‖ (‗be‘ here
isn‘t an auxiliary). In some dialects, ‗have‘ as a main verb is subject to contraction,
in other dialects the negation is realized by the insertion of auxiliary ‗don't‘. Ex: ―I
haven‘t a pen.‖ (We rarely see thi s form.) ―I don‘t have a pen.‖ Here is a review of
auxiliary negations including examples. In this table, we can see both contracted
forms used in informal writing and speaking and full forms. [13, p.27]
1. Explicit Negation
In the following sentences it‘s visible that the negation is explicit. Sentence 2 is
clearly the opposite of sentence 1 :
1) Mary is happy.
2) Mary is not happy. (negation)
Here the negation is explicit. This is the most commonly employed way of
making negatives. In such cases, an overt negative element “not” is typically
placed after the first verbal element. The overt negative element “not” is oft en
contracted to reflect the patterns of speech in writing. The letter that is omitted in
the process of contraction is represented by an apostrophe ( ') e.g.: not is written as
-n't and is joined to the preceding word.
E.g.: She isn't ready yet.
Many other words e.g.: is, am, are, will, has etc. also participate in the c ontraction
process. Consider:
We are not ready yet. We aren 't ready yet. We're'nt ready yet.

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(Note: You have also learnt about this fact in the u nit on phonology where the
weak forms of such words were discussed). Notice that only one contraction is
allowed in a sentence. We'll discuss explicit negation in greater detail in a later
section. [5, p.142]
2. Implicit Negation
This type of negation is opposite to explicit negation, so that the negation is
no longer explicitly marked either in terms of using not or using a prefix such as
un-.
E.g.: 1. Rita denied the story.
2. Mohan rejected the offer.
The negation is implied in the meaning of the verb, d enied in sentence 1 and
rejected in sentence number 2. [5, p.143]
3. Noun Phrase Negation
Another way of changing an affirmative sentence into a negative sentence is
to place a negative determiner or a restrictive quantifier before a noun, which is
called n oun phrase negation. Determiner ‗not. In English, there are several
instances where ‗not‘ can grammatically negate the subject of a sentence. Ex: ―Not
everyone can do this task.‖ ―Not one thing was left untouched by the wrath of the
tornado.‖ Ho wever, it doesn‘t mean that all noun phrases can be negated by ‗not‘.
For example, we can‘t say, ―Not John went to school yesterday.‖ Based on variou s
analyses of quantifiers and negation by ‗not‘ is only allowed when the denotation
of the negated noun ph rase has a readily definable interpretation; more specifically,
the set of possible sizes for the set denoted by the negated noun phrase must be a
continuous range of values. We can see more clearly with examples in the
following table (see table 1 from th e next page ).
Example sentences demonstrating when it is grammatical (or interpretabl e)
to negate a noun phrase with ‗not‘. [13, p.29 ]

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Grammatical Ungrammatical
1.
Not every company expects to
report increased earnings. *Not each citizen files a tax return.
2.
Not all of NASA‘s space -science
work will be so auspicious.
3. Not a flower is offered. *Not some flowers are offered.
4.
Not one thing in the house is where
it is supposed to be.
5.
Not many people came to the
meeting last week. *Not several people came to the
meeting last week.
6.
Not any person can just walk
right in there and get what they
want.
7. Not more than half of the team
showed up last Friday *Not most of the team showed up
last Friday.
8.
Not more than 200 people attended
the opening gala celebration *Not few people came to the
meeting.
*Not no man left.
9.
Not less than one million people
enjoy listening to ABBA Gold every
day. *Not the man walked into the store.
*Not John came on time
Table 1. 1.
In these sentences, there are two possible values for the size of the set
denoted by ‗not several‘: less than the value for several given by the discourse, or
greater than that value. This is very similar to the case of ‗few‘. – Not several
people came…. = few / no people ca me….. – Not several people came …. =
everybody / (many people) came…..
The range of sizes for the set denoted by ‗not several ‘ is not a continuous set
of values (the size is either less than or gr eater than the value of several ), and so
‗several‘ cannot be negated. On the other hand, the size of the set denoted by ‗not
many‘ cannot be more than many, since it is possible that ‗m any‘ indicated the size
of the entire set (many may possibly equal all, so not many ≠all ).
The addressee is to infer that one person, and not the other, did in fact come
to the party. The identity of the person who came to her party is ambiguous,

18
however this is unimportant in terms of the ability of ‗both‘ to be negated. The set
of possible values for the size of the negated set is closed and continuous, so the
negation of ‗both x‘ is grammatical. [10, p. 145]
"Determiner „no‟. No‘ is another negative determiner which we can place
before a noun to bring a negative meaning into a sentence. ―He sold no house last
month.‖ = ―He did not sell any house last month.‖ ―They will make no cakes for
her.‖ = ―They won‘t make any cake for her ‖. After the determiner ‗no‘, we can use
both singular and plural nouns, it mainly depends on the context. Ex: "No new
message" is correct if we are dealing with only one message; "No news messages"
is correct if we are dealing with more than one message. Restrictive quantifiers
‗little‘ and ‗few‘. Like ‗no‘, ‗little‘ and ‗few‘ also bring negative meanings to
sentences. [22, p.123]
4. Adverb Negation
In English, there are some negative adverbs which create negative sentences,
without adding no/not/any negative expression. So, when using negative adverb,
we don‘t need the ‗no‘ part of a negative sentence.
For example, if we want to say ‗I almost don‘t know him‗, when using
negative adverb it will be ‗I barely know him‗. As we can see, the negative
expression (d on‘t) is erased from the sentence. That‘s the reason why many people
make mistakes when using this negative adverb. It is already negative, so there is
no use of negative expression (no/ not/ neither/ nor/ etc). Therefore, we have a new
formation for a neg ation:
Subject + negative adverb + positive verb
Subject + to be + negative adverb.
E.g.: ―She never apologizes for her wrong behavio r.‖
―John is rarely late for school.‖
[22, p.125]

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5. Sentential Negation
The scope of negation can be tested with, for example, an opposite truth
value test, positive and negative tags, and negative polarity items. A negative
sentence has the opposite truth value of the corresponding sentence without
negation:
E.g.: If X is true, then the negation of X (¬X) is necessarily false; and if X is false,
then ¬X is necess arily true.
a. I will not get it right. (Negative: ¬X)
b. I will get it right. (Positive: X)
Opposite truth values is a necessary but not a sufficient condition on sentential
negation. Clauses with opposite truth values need not be a clause (X ) and its
negated counterpart ( -X). [30, p.72 ]

6. Meta – Negation
As stated above, meta -negation has a wider scope than the wide scope of sentential
negation. Meta -negation is not the same as sentential negation. This type of
negation cannot be fronted/topicalized sentential negation because :
a) topicalization only takes p lace in (matrix and embedded) main clauses,
b) because topicalization of negation is otherwise impossible in English.
E.g: Not have I done that .
Interestingly though, meta -negation passes the tests for sentential negation
and fails the tests for positive polarity :
If we consider the next example: I don’t trust them.
a. ≠ I trust them (Opposite truth value)
b. … would I? (Positive interrogative tag)
c. … *wouldn‘t I? (Negative interrogative tag)
d. … but neither do you. (Negative declarative tag)
e. … *but so do you. (Positive declarative tag)
f. … in any way at all. (Licenses NPI)

20
Further evidence for the special status of meta -negation is the fact that it
cannot b e a complement clause, (consider example a); it can only be a
parenthetical adjunct as in (b ).
E.g.: a. *He believed [not that he could trust them] (Meta -neg.)
He believed that he could not trust them (Sentential neg.)
b. She says [not that I trust her though] that her dogs don‘t bite.
Because meta -negation cannot be the same as sentential negation . [30, p.7 3]

7. Morphological/Affixal Negation
This type of negation is also called affixal negation and is marked by the
presence of negative affixes: a -, non -, dis-, un-, in- (including the variants im -, il-,
ir-), the suffix -less and the suffix -out.
E.g.: a typical = not typical;
non-stop = with out any stop;
dislike = not like;
unnecessary = not necessary;
ineffective = not effective;
impossible = not possible;
illogical = not sensible;
irresponsible = not responsible;
useless = not fulfilling the intended purpose without = not having
Note: Items that are apparently formed by negative prefixes but that are not
clearly negative in meaning are not considered (example: disgruntled). [18, p.115]

8. Non-Verbal Negation
In addition to the affixal and implicit negation we shall pay attention to non-
verbal negation , there are many wor ds which contai n a negative element in their
shape or meaning and which make sentences negative without involving the verb.
These words include : nothing, nobody, no one, nowhere, none, no, never, neither,
nor, few, l ittle, rarely, seldom, barely, hardly. scarcely, etc.

21
For example, seldom and rarely are ad verbs of low frequency meaning ―not often‖,
as in the following examples :
E.g.: a) I seldom go to the movies.
b) She rarely comes here. [34]
10. Double Negation
Blanchette (2013) describes two types of English D ouble Negation : long
distance D ouble Negation and pragmatic (or metalinguistic ). In long distance
double negation , two negative elements are structurally too far apart from each
other to enter into a concord relation, and it is the long syntactic distance between
them that yields the D ouble Negation interpretation (where ―long‖ = structurally
complex). In pragmatic double negation , one of the negations in the sentence
serves to deny a previous utterance.
Pragmatic Double Negation ‘s are context dependent in a way that
Negation Concord and long distance D ouble Negation constructions are not. The
following examples illus trate Long Distance and Pragmatic double negation ,
respectively:
E.g.: John didn‘t paint the house with no windows . – Long distance double
negation.
You ate no breakfast this morning. – Pragmatic double negation
I didn‘t eat no breakfast this morning. I had eggs. – Double Negation [32 ]

1.4. The most common way to form negation in English
The most common way of making a negative in English is to attach not (or
in speech and informal writing the contracted form -n't: (e.g.: do not, don't) to the
first verbal element of a given sentence. Doing so generally results in producing
the opposite of its positive counterpart. [24, p.130]
From the point of view of form, an important point to note is that positive
sentences are distinguished from thei r negative counterparts in that the negative
sentences generally take a positive tag question and vice -versa. The appearance of

22
“not” with the verb generally negates the whole predicate that follows it.
However, sometimes, when the predicate consists of many constituents, it may not
always be clear which specific part of the predicate is meant to be negated. In such
situations, emphasis plays a crucial role. When the whole predicate is negated; it
is called clausal negation but when o nly a word or phrase is negated , it is known
as sub -clausal negation. In the case of affixal negation ( e.g.: when an affix brings
about negation) as in unkind, improper etc. on ly the word gets negated
(e.g.: ―John was being very unkind in his remarks to his subordinate‖ .).
Some other words which are used for negation and do not involve the verb
include never, neither, nor, seldom, barely etc. [1, p.25]
1.5. The meaning of Negation

Logicians would say there is a sy mmetry between affirmative and negative
propositions:
E.g.: Affirmative statement: It is the case that…
Negative statement: It is not the case that…
As you will see in this section and the one that follows, however, the meaning and
the use of negatives are not as straightforward as this analysis makes it seem.
Accordingly, we begin this section of the chapter by acknowledging that the
negative particle can have different meanings. Bloom (1970), in her pioneering
study of the acqui sition of negation by children whose first language is English,
observed that most children in her study learned the word ‗no‘ rather quickly
(certainly by the ―terrible two‘s‖ ), but used it for a variety of meanings/purposes.
For instance, in the data that Bloom collected, the children said “No” for
nonexistence, rejection and denial:
e.g.: ―No pocket.‖ [There are no pockets] (nonexistence)
―No dirty soap‖ [I don‘t want…] (rejection)
―No truck‖ [This isn‘t a truck] (denial)
While acknowledging that a developmental psychologist might need to
distinguish the meaning of nonexistence from denial, linguist Tottie (1991) sees

23
nonexistence as a subcategory of denial. Saying something doesn‘t exist is denying
the (at least implicit) assertion ―This is a truck.‖ Denials, then, may be either
explicitly expressed or c ontextually inferred. Consider the following from Tottie:
E.g.: A. John is married. B. John isn‘t. (married)
C. John‘s wife is a teacher. D. John isn‘t even married.
B denies what A has just explicit ly stated, but D merely denies the implicit
presupposition of C that John is married. Thus, we may sum up Tottie‘s treatment
of the meaning of negation in English in the following way. There are two
meanings of negation in English, reject ion and denial, with denial being either
explicit or implicit.
E.g.: A. Would you care for scotch?
B. No, thanks. I don‘t drink. – rejection (including refusal)
A. That dress must have been very expensive.
B. It wasn‘t. In fact, I bought it at a sale. – denial (explicit)
A. Bill seems to have got lost.
B. Yeah. He must not have driven this way before. – denial (implicit)
Tottie also mentioned a category she called ―supports‖, in which list eners signal
that the information speakers are giving them is received. This category, however,
represents only 8% of Tottie‘s data. [15, p.192]
As his own refinement of the denial category, Horn (1989) noted that by
denying something, a person can be denying the truth value of the previous
proposition or its form. Horn calls examples of the latter ―metalinguistic‖:
E.g.: I didn‘t manage to trap two mongoo se, I managed to trap two mongoose.
[9, p.130]
1.6. The Scope of Negation
When we are concerned with the meaning of the negative in English, we
must also be concerned with its scope. It is usually said that is negated in a
sentence is everything that comes after the negative particle until the end of the
clause. Thus, there is a meaning contrast in the following pair of sentences:

24
E.g.: Joe obviously hasn‘t understood a word. (It is obvious that he did not .)
Joe hasn‘t obviously understood a word. (It is not obvious that he did.)
It follows then that typically the subject of an English sentence will be outside the
scope of sentential negation, but it can, of course, be negated with the negative
determiner no. We have already pointed out that negation can occur at three levels.
Thus, the first sentence in the following set exemplifies lexical negation, the
second sentence illustrates phrasal negation, and the third sentential negation.
E.g.: Alice is not at home.
In this sentence the negation is sentential in scope.
We have already noted that unlike other languages, Standard English does
not permit double negation:
E.g.: I didn‘t buy no books. (non -standard)
This is a somewhat simplified rule, however, because although it is not possible to
have two negatives that are sentential in scope, it is possib le to have a lexical with
a phrasal negative or a phrasal or lexical negative with a sentential negative.
[21, 125 -126]
1.7. Differences between negative particles
a) Some versus Any
Many textbooks point out that following a negative particle, some in an
affirmative sentence changes to any in a negative one.
E.g.: 1. Laura bought some cheese. 2. Laura didn‘t buy any cheese.
This is true even when some is part of an indefinite compound pronoun:
E.g.: a) Mike has some thing to wear to the party.
b) Mike does not have anything to wear to the party.
While this is probably a useful generalization to offer beginning -level
students, more advanced -level students should know that this is not always the
case. Some and any have actually two main meanings and one of th e meanings is
compatible with negation. It is, in fact, possible for some to occur in negative
sentences when a meaning of identity in invoked:

25
E.g.: I don‘t eat some foods – lima beans, for example.
In a negative se ntence, the some is stressed. When some/any refer to an
indefinite quantity or amount, some is weakly stressed and occurs with positive
sentences. It is not used with ordinary negative statements. [14, p.67 -68]
b) Not versus No
Earlier, we spoke of the semantic nonequivalence of the negative particles
not and no in certain structures, such as those with quantifiers. At other occasions,
though, it is difficult to discern a meaning difference between them.
E.g.: I don‘t have any time to help this weekend.
I have no time to help this weekend.
Tottie analyzed the proportions of not-negation and no-negation in speech
and writing. In speech there was 66% not-negation and 34% no-negation and in
writing, there was 37% not-negat ion and 63% no-negation. The reason for this
discrepancy is presumably due to the fact that no-negation antedates not-negation,
thus the older form is preserved in writing, which is more formal and conservative
than speech. When no-negation occurs, it is o ften in collocations (e.g.: see no
reason, no more, no less, no longer…), in implicit denia ls in existential
constructions:
E.g.: There is no milk in the house) as compared with contrastive not-negation in
explicit denials
E.g.: There is not any milk in the house); and in object noun phrases of high –
frequency lexical verbs such as ( e.g.: have, make, give, do…). [14, p.69]

c) Affixal versus Nonaffixal Negation
The most pertinent finding in Tottie‘s study on the usage difference between
affixal and nonaffixal negation was that affixal negation was far more prevalent in
writing than in speech. In fact, two -thirds of the negatives in the written sample
were affixal negatives, whereas two -thirds of the negatives in the spoken sample
were nonaffixal. A g reat many of the affixal negatives were prono minal adjectives,

26
such as impossible as in the impossible dream. Tottie attributes this finding to the
fact that different discourse strategies are used in speaking and writing due to
differences in production c onditions, such as online production under time pressure
in conversation, in contrast to more planning time available in the writing process.
Because of the greater pressure imposed on speakers, they tend to produce
utterances where one idea follows anothe r in a fragment discourse, whereas writers
have no more time to combine and superimpose ideas and can therefore, mold their
thoughts into a more integrated discourse.
The use of pronominal or attributive adjectives constitu tes ―the single most
prevalent f eatures of written language‖ according to Wallace Chafe . Even when
they use adjectives as subject predicates ( The dream is impossible ) rather than as
premodifiers, writers prefer to use the more integrated type with affixal negation,
Another reason that affixal negation is favored in writing is that it is used in
conjoined structures and conjoined phrases and complex clauses are more
characteristic of writing than speaking. [14, p.42]
1.8. Negatives’ contracted forms
Negative forms can be contracted. These ar e the negative contractions
commonly used in speech and in informal writing :
Long negative
forms Short negative
forms
do not / does not don't / doesn‘t
Am 'm not
are not aren't
is not isn't
did not didn't have not haven't
had not hadn't
should not shouldn't
would not wouldn't
will not won't
can not can‘t
must not mustn‘t
[29, p.48]
Negative Contraction and Auxiliary Contraction
Negative contraction is possible for a much wider range of verbs than
auxiliary (or non -negative) contraction in standard English . Practically every verb
(except am) has a form with a contracted negative, whereas auxiliary contraction is

27
only possible for a smaller number of verbs. For this reason, speakers have a
choice between negative v ersus auxiliary contraction for the following verb forms
only: is, are; have, has, had; will, would; shall, should . Some of the auxiliary
contracted forms are ambiguous : he's not is the contracted form of both he is
not and he has not (although this use is relatively rare); I'd not can be derived from
either I had not, I would not or I should not ; and you'll not can- at least in principle
-be the contracted form of you will not or you shall not . [28, p.15]
Rogue Contractions: Aren't I and Ain't
Negative contraction is not a possibility with am not (*I amn't ), and this
causes a difficulty in questions (where inversion does not allow verb contraction).
In colloquial English, aren't I is sometimes substituted for the non -existent *amn't
I. (The full form am I not is generally avoided.)
E.g.: I'm naughty aren't I? (conv )
'Aren't I supposed to understand?' (fict)
"[Ain't ] is a very versatile negative contraction, capable of substituting for all
negative contractions of be or the auxiliary have :
E.g.: 'There ain't nothing we can do.' (fict) isn't>
'I'm whispering now, ain't I?' (fict) aren't>
I ain't done nothing. (conv) haven't>
Ain't is common is the conversation of some dialects , and it occurs in
representations of speech in writing . However, ain't is widely felt to
be nonstandard , and so it is generally avoided in written language, as we ll as in
careful speech. [7, p.29]
Negative Contraction and Be Contraction
Whereas for all auxiliary verbs negative contraction (e.g. haven't, hasn't,
won't ) is vastly preferred over auxiliary contraction (e.g. „ve not, „d not, „ll not ), we
get the reverse picture for be. Even isn‟t (12.5%) and aren‟t (3.5%) are used very
rarely in the British Isles, so that the near absence of amn‟t in standard as well as
non-standard varieties is not a striking exception, but simply the tip of the iceberg.

28
The motivation for this striking preference of be-contraction over negative
contraction for all other auxiliaries is most likely a cognitive one, namely the
extremely low semantic content of be. [6, p.87]
Negative Contractions and Language Acquisition
Learners will use some of the negative contractions prior to their
acquisition of the rules for not in the verb phrase . The negative contractions don't,
won't, and can't are acquired early and may be used prior to the acquisition of the
particular auxiliaries which they represent. Children appear to learn th ese negative
contractions as single morphemes and use them to negate prior to learning the
auxiliary plus not." [2, p.45]
1.9. Negative Structure s
There are a number of negatives structures in English ranging from basic
negative sentences to the more complicated neither … nor and not … either . Learn
the most common negative structures by following the rules below.
Negative Verb Conjugation
The most common negative structure in English is the conjugation of the
verb in the negative. Verbs can be used in the negative by placing ' not' directly
after the auxiliary verb in each conjugation. The combination of the auxiliary
verb + not is often contracted in Engli sh. For example: do not = don't; will not =
won't; has not = hasn't, etc.
S + auxiliary verb + not + main verb + objects
E.g.: She won't come to the party tomorrow.
Tom hasn't finished the report.
We aren't studying Russian this semester. [8, p.20]
Negative Imperative
The imperative form is used to instruct/ command others. Use 'do not' plus
the verb for all comparative forms. No subject is required for the use of the

29
imperative form.
Never
'Never' is used to express the idea that something is never done. Note that
'never' is used with positive form of the verb but results in a negative meaning. It's
also important to remember that the present simple and past simple do not take an
auxiliary verb in the positive form. In other words, use the auxiliary verb for the
present perfect, future, etc., but not with the present or past simple.
S + (auxiliary verb) + never + verb + objects
E.g.: She never takes time off work.
Mary has never returned my calls.
Peter never walked to school when he was young. [20, p.19]
Double Negatives in English
Double negatives – the use of two 'no' words such as not and nowhere in one
sentence – are incorrect in English . When modifying something use either a 'no'
word, or 'any' as explained in the fol lowing sections.
E.g.: He doesn't like anything.
He likes nothing.
Angela hasn't visited anyone this month.
Angela has visited no one this month. [14, p.33]
Use of Any
Any and words such as anyone, anybody, anything , etc. are used in negative
sentences and questions.
S + auxiliary verb + not + main verb + any + objects
E.g.: He doesn't have any time.
Mary isn't going to eat any dinner.
No – Words
There are a number of no words such as nowhere, nothing, no one, which
can be used in place of 'any' words. Note the difference in structure between the

30
two. 'Any' words take the negative verb structure, 'no' words take positive
structures.
S + (auxiliary verb) + main verb + no word + objects
E.g.: I have nothing to say. No more / not … any more
The boys invited no one to their party.
Timothy has gone nowhere this summer.
Negative + Any OR No Word
The following sections refer to specific similar structures using either the
negative verb form with 'any' or a 'no' word. In each of these cases examples are
given for both forms. The forms used have been explained above.
E.g.: I have no more time to day. OR I don't have any more time today.
She has thought of no more ideas. OR She hasn't thought of any more ideas.
Nobody / not … anybody
Note: This has the same meaning as no one / not … anyone .
E.g.: Susan saw nobody at work today. OR Susan didn't see anyone at work today.
Tom bought nobody a present. OR Tom didn't buy anyone a present. [31]
No one / not … anyone
Note: This has the same meaning as no body / not … anybody .
E.g.: I'm meeting no one today. OR I'm not meeting anyone today.
Alice has bought no one presents yet. OR Alice hasn't bought anyone
presents yet.
Nothing / not … anything
E.g.: I've eaten nothing all day. OR I haven't eaten anything all done.
Doug talks about nothing with his friends . OR Doug doesn't talk about
anything with his friends.
Nowhere / not … anywhere
E.g.: Shelly has gone nowhere this year.
Shelly hasn't gone anywhere this year.

31
Alex has travelled nowhere outside of the USA.
Alex hasn't travelled anywhere outside of the USA.
Neither … Nor
Use the phrase 'neither … nor' when expressing two negatives together. Note
that the verb is inverted after the use of 'nor'.
E.g.: I have neither the time nor have I had the desire to do my work.
She has neither the time nor the money to help her friends.
Alex has neither the means nor does he have the ability to find a new job.
[14, p.43]
Negative form of modal verbs
Modal verbs are a part of the larger category called auxiliary verbs which
are verbs that cannot be used on their own. They need to be accompanied by
another (main) verb.
The structure of modal verbs in Negative sentences is:
Subject + Modal Verb + not + Verb (base form of the infinitive)
can (used for possibility)
It can happen; everything's possible. can't (cannot)
It can't happen; it's impossible.
can (used for permission)
Can I smoke here? ∼ Yes, you can. can't (cannot), mustn't
You can't / mustn‘t smoke here.
can (used for ability)
I can play the guitar. can't (cannot)
I can't play the guitar.
must, have to (used for obligation)
You must be there at 8 o'clock.
You have to be there at 8 o'clock. don't have to, needn't
You don't have to be there at 8 o'clock.
You needn't be there at 8 o'clock.
must (used for personal opinion, certainty)
He must be here somewhere – his car is
outside. can't (cannot)
He can't be here – his car's not outside.
might, may (used for personal opinion,
certainty)
He might/may be late today – there's a lot
of traffic on the roads. may not, might not
He might/may not get here on time – there's
a lot of traffic on the roads.
should (used for weak obligation / advice)
You should stop smoking because it's
unhealthy. shouldn't (should not)
You shouldn't smoke so much – it's
unhealthy.

32
Chapter II. THE ANALYSIS OF WAYS OF TEACHING NEGATION AT
THE INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
2.1. General information about grammar
Grammar is field or linguistics that involves all the various things that make
up the rules of language. Subfield of linguistics that are considered a part of
grammar include syntax, phonetic, morphology and semantics. Grammar is also
used as a term to refer to the prescriptive rules of a given languages, whit may
changes over time or be op en to debate.
Grammar includes rules which govern the structure of words and rules
which govern the structure of words to form clauses and sentences that are
acceptable to educated native speakers. [26, p.487]
Most teachers see grammar as a body of knowl edge that they themselves
need as professional linguists, knowledge they can use judiciously to help learners
gain insights into the workings of the language. Some teachers see no need to teach
and practice grammar at all. Some even regard structure practi ce and other forms
of grammar teaching as harmful. Their view is that learners will pick up the
regularities intuitively, provided they meet enough samples of natural language.
The teacher‘s role, as they see it, is to provide a language – rich environment in
which the learners meet comprehensible language as they engage in activities of
various kinds.
Learning English grammar is important. Understanding grammar will give
us better communications and thinking skills, making us a better listener, speaker,
reader, and writer. Understanding grammar will also allow us to develop our own
unique personal style of communicating, which can lead to a rewarding career as a
speaker or writer. Knowledge of grammar will enable us to communicate
effectively in any situation, allowing us to form more and meaningful relationships
with friends and family. Indeed, learning grammar can improve our life and make
us better person in several ways . [38]

33
In terms of t eaching any part of the grammar of a foreign language in
general, the teacher may choose between two methods, namely the bottom -up and
the top down approaches. The bottom -up method is based on providing students
with a series of grammatical rules for each particular case. The stage of
generalization follows, i.e. a student synthesizes the general principle and then is
able to apply the general principle to the whole system (fig.1).

Generalization

Student Rule 1 Rule 2 Rule 3 Rule …

Figure 1: Bottom -up method
In contrast to the bottom -up method, the top -down approach to grammar,
which will be applied here, is based on the notion that st udents have access to the
general rule first. Then, they can apply the g eneral rule to particular cases (fig. 2).

Student Generalization

Rule 1 Rule 2 Rule 3 Rule…

Figure 2: Top -down method
2.2. Methodological Aspects of Teaching Negation

Negation is in the fir st place a phenomenon of semanti cally opposition. As
such, negation relates an expression ‗e‟ to another expression with a meaning that
is in some way opposed to the meaning of ‗e‟. This relation may be realized
syntactically and pragmatically in various ways.
Negation is the d enial of the truth of a clause or sentence, typically involving
the use of a negative word (e.g. not, no, ne ver) or a word or affix with negative
force (e.g. nothing, non -). [35, p.142 -143]

34
Teaching negation as well as grammar (and learning it) consists of three
main stages:
 Presentation of the meaning and form of each new structure
 Practice (putting it into practice)
 Testing
In special literature , a variety of techniques are presented for each stage,
some of them are described:
1. Board -work presentations
For a quick and easy presentation of new language, the board is the obvious
resource to exploit. Start by building a context. For example, a travel er‘s suitcase
covered in stickers of places she‘s been provides an easy -to-establish context for
the present perfect for experiences. Make sure you include on your board: the
negative: e.g.: She hasn‘t been to China . Underline or use a different color to
highlight the structure, e.g.: has been , contractions I‘ve / she‘s / etc., and aspects
of pronunciation, eg been = /bɪn/. [11, p.79]
2. Using the students and you, the teacher
A direct context for language can often be found in the lives and experiences
of the people in the room. Personal contexts immediately show how applicable the
grammar is, and can also be more memorable than stories of people from outside
the students‘ worlds. Throughout the book we suggest activities where students
talk about themselves, their experiences, their lives, their opinions. We also
suggest ways that you can use stories from your o wn life to present grammar,
e.g.: the teacher can use photos of themselves when they were younger to
introduce was/were. Student photos can also be a great resource. Most students
will have photos on their mobile phones that they can share with each other to
support any number of practice activities. [11, p.81]
3. Using realia
Bringing objects into th e classroom or using the objects you find in the
classroom can help bring a grammar point to life and create a physical memory

35
hook. Realia can be used to create a context for the target language. For example
we can use such things as a bag of rice, a glas s of water, a balloon and a tea bag to
introduce the concept of countable and uncountable nouns. It can also provide
further practice. Objects that the students could use into the class provide a talk ing
point to present and practic e possessive structures. [19, p.45]
4. Dialogue building
This collaborative technique involves setting a scene and, with the students‘
help, writing a dialogue on the board including the language you want to focus on.
E.g.: the teacher can provide a framework for a dialogue betwe en waiters and
customers in a restaurant. This is a familiar situation in which the indefinite
pronouns something, anything and nothing occur natural ly. Students then either
practic e the dialogue in pairs as it is or with variations ( e.g.: different choice s of
food and drink, a different type of restaurant). They also practice the negation
there. A great way to push students towards memorizing the language is to
gradually erase the text, word by word, until the students are repeating the dialogue
from memor y. [11, p.80]
5. Dictation
With grammar points where the written form is already familiar to the
students, but where meaning needs to be explored in more depth, a quick and
effective means of introducing the language is to dictate model sentences to the
class. Dictation immediately gets students working with the language and tests
listening skills and spelling, as well as grammatical knowledge. It also promotes
conversation management skills, such a s asking to clarify and repeat e.g.: ―Sorry,
could you say that again, please?‖ [19, p.84]
6. Dictogloss
In a dictogloss, the teacher has a text prepared to dictate to the class, but
instead of dictating it slowly to ensure students write a faithful copy, they read it at
a more natural speed two or more times. Pr epare a text of no more than 100 words
(fewer for lower -level students). Read it out first for content, and check

36
comprehension. Then tell students to write down keywords, such as nouns and
verbs, as you read it out again. Explain that even though they wil l not be able to
write every word, they should keep writing as much as possible. Using their notes,
students in pairs or small groups reconstruct the text in complete sentences. The
idea is not to reproduce the text verbatim, but to focus in on certain asp ects of the
language used. For example, there can be a dictogloss activity focusing on the use
of would to talk about past habits. [27, p.113]
7. Drilling
To help students pronounce new language correctly, get them to say it repeatedly
so you can check fo r accuracy. By experiencing the movement of the mouth as
they say it, students reinforce their learning in a different way from when they
write it down and see it. Simple drilling can be either choral, e.g.: all students
repeat the structure at the same ti me, or individual. A suggested order is to let
students prac tice chorally first, but to insist on individual repetition so that you can
check everyone is pronouncing it correctly. There are ways to vary drilling so that
it doesn‘t get repetitive. Substitut ion drilling involves the teacher prompting
students to substitute words for other words in a drilled sentence, for example:
– T: He is not working at the office. S1: He is not working at the office.
– T: They S2: They are not working at the office.
– T: At home . S3: They are not working at home.
– T: watch TV S4: They are not watching TV at home.
Drilling can be disguised as a game, as in the circular drill where students
inadvertently ‗drill‘ each other. [27, p.114]
8. Songs
Another popular way of encouraging students to repeat structures as well as
to make them memorable is through songs . Choose songs that contain the target
language multiple times and which contain a natura l stress pattern for it, too, e.g.:
―If I had a million dollars, I‘d buy yo u a fur coat ‖. Songs can be used to present the
target language through listening tasks such as gap -fills or reordering the lines or

37
words in the lyrics. They also offer repeated exposure to the language and, if your
students enjoy singing, ca n also offer a chance to practic e pronunciation. [3, p.154]
9. Exploiting feedback stages
Feedback on activities is not just about seeing how ma ny questions students
got right, it is an opportunity to achieve several teaching objectives: to check
understanding, correct persistent errors, share interesting information, revise rules
and to draw conclusions. Other ways of exploiting this crucial stage at the end of
activities include:
• reformulation: students use questions to find out when their partn ers last did
certain things, e.g.: ―When did you last go to the cinema? ‖.
• critical thinking: as well as asking students what they answered, we can also ask
Why? For example, they are asked why they voted for their favourite slogans .
• remembering/summariz ing: one way of car rying out feedback is to get students to
work in pairs or groups to remember everybody else‘s answers, effectively drilling
the target language. [8, p.115]
10. Error correction
Students want and expect correction from their teacher. Choosing which
mistakes to correct, when to do so and how, are complex questions. It‘s important,
however, to remember that students who need the most correction may not be
those that make the most or biggest mistakes. Lower -level or quiet, shy students
may benefit from less correction so that they are not discouraged from using
English, however imperfectly. We correct students in the hope that they won‘t
keep making those mistakes. To encourage them to think about their errors, let
them try out new language, listening ou t for errors of use. Then point out the errors
and show them the corrections. Finally, let them do the activity again, this time
with those common errors fresh in their minds. In a shopping role play for
example, students can perform the role play first, y ou correct any errors, then they
swap roles and try again . [8, p.116]

38
But it is important to say that in the Republic of Moldova, teaching negation,
teachers are especially focused on two methods : inductive and deductive methods.
 The deductive method.
The dedu ctive method of teaching negation is the academic and sch olarly
one. The approach is very simple. First, the teacher writes an example on the board
or draws attention to example in the textbook. The underlying rule is explained,
nearly always in th e mother tongue and using the meta -language of grammar.
Finally, the students practice applying the rule, orally and in writing. Special
attention is paid to areas of con flict between the rules of formation and using
negation of the mother tongue and that of the target language. The whole approach
is cognitive, with learners considering the rules and weighing their words before
they speak or write. Little attention is paid to the value of the message. Those steps
are used by teachers who follow a grammar – translation method and by those who
are working with a textbook which has a traditional grammar syllabus rather than a
structural one. Varieties of negation — focused approaches still flourish in certain
educational circles, and they are successful when use d with selected and motivated
students. We must also remember that language examinations are mainly written,
with accuracy as the criterion of success, so many teachers make increasing use of
the deductive approach as examinations loom closer. [29, p.221]
 The inductive method.
To induce means to bring about, to cause something to happen. Teachers
following the inductive approach induce the learners to realize grammar rules of
negation without any form of prior explanation. These teachers believe that the
rules will become evident if learners are given enough appropriate e xamples.
When teaching a negation point, their first step is to demonstrate the meaning to
the class. For e xample, they will hold up a pen , saying ―This is not a pencil. This is
a pen.‖ They will do the same showing other objects. After givin g several
examples of the use of negative form they will contrast the two forms. Their next
step is to get the students two produce the two grammatical forms, working with

39
the same set of objects. The t eacher says nothing through this stage except two
correct if necessary. Other objects the students can name will then be brought into
the practice. With luck they will follow the models and produce grammatically
correct utterances. The negative form is sho wn on the board only after extensive
practice. Explanation is not always made, though they may be elicited from the
students themselves. In such cases, the mother tongue might well be used. The
model is copied and the class may be required to write sample sentences from the
model.
Both methods above offer advantages. The deductive method is quick and
easy for the teacher. Where a difficult grammar point has to be presented, and
perhaps explained because the concept is not one that is in the mother tongue, t his
is probably the better way. Where time is short, it is useful, even for a simple
grammar point. Many learners, especially older ones, prefer the deductive
approach because they want to know how the language works. [46]
In this research, we deal with methods of teaching negation. Negation is a
component part of grammar and if we try to teach negation we can not do this
without referring to grammar in general .
In grammar, negation mea ns using contradictory ideas in s enten ces.
Basically, negative sentences are the opposite of positive ones.
A negative sentence is one indicating something is untrue. Often made as a
statement, negative sentences employ negation words such as "no" and "not,"
sometimes featured in contractions like "don't," "can't," or "won't." In English
grammar, negative sentences are created by adding the negative word after the first
auxiliary verb in the positively stated sentence. In present and past simple tenses,
lacking auxiliary verbs, it is typically added with the auxiliary verb "do."
The first way to form negation is by adding the auxiliary verb 'do'.
E.g.: 'Sarah does not go to the movies.'
Remember, verbs are the action words. Many sentences have more than one
verb. In those cases, auxiliary verbs are used to indicate different shades of

40
meaning. One common auxiliary verb added to the main verb for negation is 'do'.
The forms of do are 'do', 'did', and 'does '. [37]
Comprehending and using negation is a common grammar challenge
in language acquisition. Although children use negatives in their first
years (such as using the word ―no‖), other negations can be quite
complicated for children to produce and comprehend. Und erstanding
those negatives is critical to a child‘s success at school, home, and in the
community. Negation is absolutely necessary for being able to
communicate and reason effectively.
Negation is especially difficult to learn and teach for a few reasons.
First, negatives cannot be taught as nouns and adjectives because they
hold a number of different meanings and uses. Second, it can be hard for
teachers or parents to pinpoint which aspect of negation the child is
having trouble. Third, negation completel y reverses the meaning of the
sentence, which can be a hard concept to grasp! [27, p.97]
If one understands the elements of parts of speech well, it helps a lot to make
negations. Vocabulary categorically as follows helps to make ides effective.
Pronouns : neither,
Adjectives : no, weak, dull , colourless, contrary,
Verbs : disallow, dissent, deny, reject , invalidate, repel ,resist,
Adverbs : never , seldom , rarely , not, rarely
Conjunctions : neither…nor, nor, lest
Apart from vocabulary the technique of framing the negativ e sentences is
also qui te essential. The learners must know the correct structure of negative
sentences because negation is a fundamental element of human language —it is
essential to logical systems, allows us to evaluate whether a statement is true or
false, and it gives us a way to express concepts such as nonexistence. [25, p.66]

41
Difficulties learners had to overcome for a correct use of negation in English:
There are several problems faced by students regarding different aspe cts:
a) The distinction between „No‟ and „Not‟ : Learners seem to use them
indistinctively on some occasions. This may be due to linguistic transfer as in their
mother tongue such distinction does not exist.
b) The use of auxiliary verbs to form negative structures : Learners have
problems with the use of auxiliary verbs in the negative form. Sometimes, they
omit them. This may also be due to the interference from the mother tongue over
the foreign language.
c) The use of polarity sensitive items : Learners encounter difficulties in the
use of items such as ‗any‘ or ‗either ‘ since they seem to forget about their
sensitivity to polarity and use them in any context. This fact leads students to
produce instan ces of double negation such as ‗ There is no t nothing to do. ‘
d) The use of negative prefixes: Some learners have problems with the use of
prefixes such as ‗un -‗ (e.g. *unjustice instead of injustice) . This may be due to an
over generaliz ation of the prefix un – which is very productive in English ( it is the
most recurrent negative prefix in the native corpus). There was identified some
problems with negative prefixes coming from Latin, such as ‗in-‗, (e.g.
*inconsciously instead of unconsciously). [40]
Recommendations that students have to take into account when making the
negation:
Break it down by understanding the functions of negation and the
types of negatives. You can then use the strategies and books below to
teach it. Negatives are a difficult concept to teach and learn but are
critical to a learner ‘s ability to communicate.
1. Usually adverbs come before the principal verb or after the Auxiliary Verb
E.g: I do not know. He rarely come s late.

42
2. Negative addition is made by using the appropriate auxiliary, introduced by nor
or neither; inversion takes place.
E.g.: She can‘t read this, Nor can I.
Tomatoes won‘t grow there, neither will potatoes.
3. Inversion is obligatory after fronting the words of negative meaning such as
never, hardly, scarcely, few, little, seldom, rarely etc.,
E.g.: Hardly had I reached the spot , the trouble started.
Only later did she realiz e that herself was responsible for it.
4. Negative interrogatives make the sentence more emphatic.
E.g.: Did she not yet paid the bill ?
Cannot sh e come with us?
5. Indefinite pronouns are used to make negation.
E.g.: -Nothing impossible
-None of th ese conditions are acceptable. ( none means not one )
-Few escaped unhurt.
-I think, at present it is enough so no more digging please. [42]

At the intermediate level, negation as well as grammar is taught mostly
through the deductive method and teachers use the inductive method. As it has
been affirmed above, negation is taught mostly together with grammar rules of
teaching tenses.
E.g.: When it is taught Present Simple Tense, then the three forms of verbs
(affirmative, negative and interrogative) are taught. For example verb ‗to think‘:
Affirmative Interrogative Negative
I think Do I think? I do not think
You think Do you think? You do not think
He thinks Does he think? He does not think

In this way it is mostly taught negation with all the tenses together. Because
negation is a part of grammar, in our schools, as it is widespread Grammar

43
Translation Method. T his met hod is also referred to as explici t grammar tea ching.
Lists of w ords and grammar rules were typi cally used in the classroom. The point
of departure in grammar w as the senten ce. Once students understand a rule,
they are asked to apply it to some differ ent examples. The aim of this meth od is
that abstra ct rules that refer to negation were taught dedu ctively (the rules w ere
presented before pra ctical examples of the rules w ere given ). Lately, there is a
tendency to replace this method of teaching grammar/negation with o thers more
efficient like Direct method, Audio -lingual method, Situational Language
Teaching and Communicative method. At least during the pedagogical practice
grammar was taught by modern methods and it was concluded that they are more
effective. [10, p.1 34]
At the 5th grade , accordingly to the course book, negative forms are taught
to learners in a special box named ―Grammar Guide‖ according to the example
below :
Simple Present (To Be)
Affirmative Negative Interrogative
I am… (I‘m) I am not (I‘m not) … Am I…?
You are… (You‘re) You are not (aren‘t) … Are you… ?
He/She/It is… (He‘s,
she‘s, it‘s) He/She/It is not (isn‘t) … Is he/she/it… ?
We are… (We‘re) We are not (aren‘t) … Are we… ?
They are… (They‘re) They are not (aren‘t) … Are they… ?

The same about other tenses (Past simple, Future Simple, Present Perfect,
Present Progressive or combination Have got) the negation is taught togeher with
these tenses in all forms (affirmative, negative and interrogative). At the 5 grade,
negation is taug ht together with modal verbs (can, may, must) and together with
combination ―there is/are…‖
E.g.: There is no fireplace in the house.
There isn‘t a fireplace in the house.

44
There are no curtains on the window.
There aren‘t any curtains on the window.
In the 6th grade , besides those tenses and expressions of teaching
negation mentioned above for the 5th grade are added Past
Progressive, Past Perfe ct, Reported Speech, adjectives ending in
‗–less‘ , comparison (not as…as) with which are taught negation
at this level.
E.g.: Jim is not as noisy as Bob.
I didn‘t use to get up early when I was in the village.
Below it is an example about how is taught negation through Active and Passive
Voice in the 6th grade:
Tense Active voice Passive voice
Present
Indefinite He does not polish his shoes. His shoes are not polished by him.
You do not wear a new shirt. A new shirt is not worn by you.
Present
continuous He is not polishing his shoes. His shoes are not being polished by
him.
You are not wearing a new
shirt. A new shirt is not being worn by
you.
Past
Indefinite Father did not drive us home. We were not driven home by father.
John did not press my clothes. My clothes were not pressed by
John.
Past
Continuous I was not playing the role. The role was not being played by
me.
You were not watering the
plants. The plants were not being watered
by you.
Past
perfect Mother had not prepared the
costume. The costume had not been prepared
by mother.
I had not read the newspaper. The newspaper had not been read by
me.

45
So, negation is taught through grammar and it became more complex for
each grade. For example in the 7th grade , pupils learn update their knowledge
about negation mostly together with Reported Speech (Simple Tenses, Progressive
Tenses, Perfect Tenses, Imperative sentences, general Truth).
E.g.: Negatives of Future Perfect Tense
Direct speech : He said to me, ―I won`t have done my homework.‖
Indirect speech : He told me that he wouldn‘t have done his homework .
E.g.: Negatives of Past Continuous Tense
Direct speech : was/were + verb + ing
Mom said ―I was not cooking your favourite dish.‖
Indirect speech : had been + verb + ing
Mom said that she had not been cooking my favourite dish.
In the 8th grade, grammar is taught in a page named ―Grammar Page‖. So,
pupils remember about the rules of double negation through the Indefinite
Pronouns a nd Adverbs :
Pronouns Thing –
derivatives Body/ one –
derivatives How / w here/
every –
derivatives
Some Something Somebody Somewhere
Any Anything Anybody/ anyone Anyhow/anywhere
Every Everything Everybody/everyone Everywhere
No Nothing Nobody/ no one Nowhere

Here, l earners update their knowledge about no- derivatives which are
generally used in negative sentences, (they are often the subject of a sentence)
E.g.: Nobody knows.
Nothing has happened .
Note: The verb is always in the singular form after the indefinite pronoun
derivatives (something, anyone, nobody etc.) as subject. Remember to use only one
negation in English sentences. The verb is positive after nobody/no one or nothing.

46
Another way to le arn negation for pupils in the 8th grade is inversion:
E.g.: I haven‘t read this book. Neither/ Nor have I.
She hasn‘t read this book. Neither/ Nor has she.
In the 8th grade, learners also revise the Progressive Tenses, Perfect
Progressive Tenses, Passive Voice, Conditional and others tenses and grammatical
structures through which they practice the negation as well as other form
(affirmative and interrogative).
In the 9th grade, the course books do not provide a special heading for
grammar and they practice grammar is different contexts, in communication and in
writing. So, at this grade learners are able to use automatically different types of
negation. Pupils can deny or disapprove different ideas.
In conclusion, we can affirm that the r ecommended method of teaching
negation at the intermediate level is the inductive method . This method of teaching
means that the teacher presents the rule through situations and sentences and
does guided practice and the learners do free practice, then the teacher deduces or
elicits the rule from the learners themselves. Inductive reasoning moves from
specific details and observations (typically of nature) to the more general
underlying principles or process that explains them . The premises of an inductive
argument are believed to support the conclusion, but do not ensure it. Thus, the
conclusion of an induction is regarded as a hypothesis. In the Inductive method,
also called the scientific method, observation of nature is the authority. Inductive
reasoning works the other way, it works from observation (or observations) works
toward generalizations and theories. Th is is also called a ―bottom -up approach ‖.
Inductive reason st arts from specific observations , look for patterns, regularities (or
irregularities) , formulate hypothesis that we could work with and finally ended up
developing general theories or drawing conclusion. Deductive reasoning is narrow
in nature and is concerned with testing or confirming hypothesis .

47
2.3. Activities Applied for Teaching Negation to the Intermediate Level
The students can recognize particular words and prefixes that signal
negation and use negative forms in creating their own oral or written texts.
Further are described some activities for understanding better and for practice
negation .
Activity 1: using prefixes to form opposites to create negation
Oral activity – this activity is suitable for 5th and 6th grade .
a) Introduce the use of prefixes to create opposites of adjectives.
b) Give students a list of adjectives and discuss how to make opposites. Some
use totally different words ( e.g. large/small) while others can use a prefix
to create the opposite ( e.g. the opposite of happy can be either sad or
unhappy) make sets of cards.
The t eacher may say that the use of some prefixes can change the verb to the
opposite meaning.
c) Use a range of prefixes to build understanding that there are various forms
that perform the same function and they may change accor ding to the first
letter of the base word.
d) Teacher explains that all these prefixes perform the same function – to
create the negative attribute or action.

Table of prefixes

48
Teacher tip : display this table to help students become familiar with the use of
different prefixes. [39]
Activity 2: practic ing usage
Guided
Students can use quizzes on websites, play communicative sorting games to
match prefixes to base words and complete sentences usi ng the negative forms to
practic e usage. (Worksheets such as the one below should be with a partner
orally.)
Activity 3: practic ing using base words in groups
Independent
Students research different negative prefixes and make posters of lists for display
in the classroom. (See below) :

[29, p.119]

49
Ideas to Work on Negation
Getting negative forms right in English is a lot more difficult than in other
languages. English offers a myriad of contractions with NOT, and added forms
like don’t and didn’t . When students are learning, they need to get these forms
right.
As usual, it is underlined an easy way to practice this. Most books teach the
positive forms first, and give some listening exercises or dialogues. But it can use
these to practice t he negatives as well:
1. Do the listening exercise as laid out in the book.
2. The next day, come back to it. Do it again, as in the book.
3. Tell the students that they need to practice the negative forms. Play each
sentence. The students change it to the negative. Be prepared to do it a few times.
They may not reach unanimity.
4. Play it again and call on individual students to give the negative. If they miss it
calls on someone else until you get the correct negative sentence. [27, p.157]
The contractions are very important, and students often pull them apart and
say the words individually. That‘s not how we speak English! It sounds unnatural
and too formal. Have them use the contractions with NOT, because that‘s how we
really say the negative in 95% of cases.

Up-To-Date Methods to Practice Negation at the Intermediate Level:
a) Visuals – First, the learner needs to understand the meaning of the
word ―no.‖ To do this I use some kind of visual! For example, shaking
your head while saying ―no‖ or ―not.‖
b) Pictures – Follow the same guidelines but with pictures. Real pictures
are best! You can begin to ask different types of questions to generalize
the negation concept. For example, ask about object function: ―Which
one is not for c ooking?‖ Begin to incorporate other types of negatives,

50
such as: ―Which animal can‘t fly?‖ You can also use picture scenes as a
higher level activity.
c) Following Directions – The next step of comprehension is being able
to follow verbal directions. Make it a fun, silly game of having to listen
extra hard to the directions. For example, ―Touch the chair but don‘t look
at it!‖ or give conditional directions such as, ―If you are not a boy, touch
your nose.‖ Once your student gets the concept, they can be th e ones in
charge of giving the directions! This requires a whole new level of
thinking and verbal planning.
d) Barrier Games – Barrier games are a great way to incorporate
listening to verbal direction in a more structured activity. Barrier games
are langu age games in which two players sit across from each other with
a barrier between them. Each player is given the same scene and pieces.
The barrier is placed between the players to hide one‘s scene from the
other player. Directions are given on where to pla ce the pieces and at the
end you compare your scenes, which should be the same.
You can easily give the students directions here to place their piece while
incorporating negatives. For example, ―Put the kite in the sky but not
touching the cloud,‖ or ―Put on all the kids but not the baby.‖
e) Repetition – When it comes to teaching the more complex negations
and asking questions with negations, it‘s all about finding a motivating,
functional game and modeling the phrase/question with the negative. For
exampl e, playing ―Go Fish‖ and reinforcing the sentence ―I don‘t have
it.‖ I also find using puppets helpful and doing silly things with them.
For example, covering the puppet‘s eyes and saying ―I can‘t see! I can‘t
see!‖ Smaller children tend to find this funny and then want a turn.
f) Simple Positive to Negative – The simplest activity for teaching negative
sentences is to assign students a list of positive sentences to be turned into negative
sentences. The younger or more inexperienced in English the student, the less

51
complicated the sentence should be. Begin with simple present statements: "I
watch TV" negates to "I do not watch TV." Contractions can be taught
simultaneously or at a later date. Include a variety of subjects and tenses so
students gain experien ce with past, present, and future negation – have them negate
variations on the same sentences to see the different forms.
g) "To Be" Negation Activities – "To be" negation can be tricky for students,
especially when it comes to contractions – why doesn't "am not" contract to
"amn't," and how does "will not be" contract to "won't"? Explain the various forms
of negative contractions for "to be" verbs, then practice by creating teams of two in
your class –or practice with just you and your student in a one -on-one setting. Take
turns making positive statements: "This book is mine," "I am a student," "They are
taxi drivers." Play the contradiction game by having the other member of the team
fire back with the negative form of the statement.
h) Space Game: Negat ive Sentences – Players use a control stick to steer a space
ship to hit words composing negative sentence in the proper order. They are
presented with s everal words -one of which is a ne gative like "don't" or "isn't" – and
must hit the words in the correct order with the spaceship to form a negative
sentence. In addition to being a fun computer game, distractin g learners from the
mundanity of grammar, the game's format forces students to think slowly and
carefully about each aspect of the sentence and the su bsequent appropriate negative
element.
i) Interactive Online Activities – Students who enjoy using the computer for
interactive grammar games can find a variety of negative sentence activities online.
These are typically formatted so the students can choose from a variety of negative
options -"doesn't" vs. "don't," (for example) and the computer corrects the answers
at the end of the game. More challenging activities compel students to write the
complete, negative form of a prov ided sentence. ―Don't vs. Doesn 't English
Grammar Games‖ allow students to choose between "don't" and "doesn't" – or add
another word of their own. [32, p.211 -214]

52
Recommendations for effective teaching negation
As this report focuses on effective grammar teaching, there are underlined
the following recommenda tions for conducting a successful grammar class:
 Avoid rule -giving teaching : In many ESL classes, grammar is taught
deductively. The teacher gives some grammar rules and the students memorize
those rules. Altho ugh this may ensure good grades in exam, when they are
asked to apply the grammar items in real life context, they ar e sure to face great
problems, i f the tea chers avoid the additional rule -giving of teaching and teach
grammar inductively it will make the grammar teaching effective.
 Engage the learner: In ESL classes while teaching grammar such as negatives ,
teachers directly go straight into the lesson. It is necessary to prepare the learner
prepared for the lesson. Teachers need to engage the students first. They need to
give students idea about their lesson by asking them some guiding questions
that will lead them into the lesson.
 Teaching through pictu res and physical objects : Teachers can give examples
in the form of pictures, drawings or objects and then explain the negative
structure through those examples. If teachers show them pictures and physical
objects, students can not only listen but also vis ualize the examples. This
visualization will reinforce what they listen and therefore will grammar
teaching more meaningful and consequently effective.
 Teaching through texts : As it was mentioned in the first recommendation that
students know the negative structure but cannot apply it in real life context.
Teachers can teach negation through text. It will help the students to use
negative structure in real life context.
 Teaching through role -play: once students know any negative structure they
need to pra ctice it in different situation. Role -play can serve this purpose of
practice and revision. If the teacher teaches through role -play, students will able
to use the structures in different situations. [33, p.139]

53
In other words, by avoiding traditional grammar teaching and incorporating
teaching techniques used in the CLT method (which although, focuses on the
communication skill rather than grammar structure), negation teaching can be
made more int eresting, meanin g and effective.

54
Chapter III. EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF SPEAKING
ACTIVITIES
Teaching grammar is an essential part of school education or adult
learning. Without good grammar, spoken or written words lose much of their
meaning and most of their value. Negation is a part of grammar which is very
important too. Negation, as g rammar is a very important thing to get right, and
teachers should take extra care to impart proper grammar to all their students.
Sadly, different topics in grammar includi ng negation are often seen as difficult
and boring subject s and one popular method of teaching is to just repeat the
correct grammar for mula over and over until they are memoriz ed and able to be
repeated, like a parrot. This is dull for both teachers and students, and often only
results in the pupils being able to repeat what they have learned, rather than
resulting in a complete understanding that can be applied to all situations.
3.1. Description of the course of the experimental work
The material used during the pedagogical investigation was taken from the
book ―English Grammar in Use‖ by Raymond Murphy and the Student‘s Book for
7th form ―English for me and you‖ by Afanasie Manic , Tatiana Musteața , Larisa
Glavan and Timothy Schneider .
The experiment was carried out at ―Petru Rares‖ High School, Chișinău, in
two groups of the 7th grade students (A and B), consisting of 16 students (control
group) and 15 students (experimental group) accordingly. All of the students have
studied English since they joined sc hool and, in general, their level is medium,
with some exceptions. Group 1 was considered to be a control one , it was taught
in a traditional way; Group 2 (experimental group) was taught with the use of
some up to date interactive methods and strategies. F or instance, during the process
of fulfilling the assignment students were involved in peer evaluation and grammar
activities, such as Brainstorming, Questions and Answers, Discussion games,

55
Maiming activities, Information gap activity, Storytelling, Agree or Disagree,
Role -Play and Simulations etc.
The objectives of the experimental study were:
 To establish the initial level of knowledge that includes an initial test.
 To elaborate of up to date activities for teaching negation at the three stages
presenta tion, practice and testing.
 To teach the same negatives structures in two groups.
 To process qualitative and quantitative data that includes a final test.
At the pre -experimental stage the students‘ abilities were examined. Learners
were distributed a questionnaire whose purpose was to reveal difficulties students
encounter while performing negation exercises . The sample of the questionnaire is
presented below:
Table 3.1. Initial questionnaire based on negation
Put the numbers from 4 to 1 to show your agreement or disagreement with the
given statements following this pattern :
1 – completely disagree;
2 – partially disagree;
3 – partially agree;
4 – completely agree;
1. I like grammar.
2. I feel unsure about grammatical structures I use.
3. I don‘t know how to express a refusal or a denial in
different contexts.
4. I don‘t understand the rules of forming negative sentences.
5. I don‘t understand the structure of negative questions.
6. I can‘t understand the rule of double negation.
The results obtained with the help of the questionnaire are shown below:

56
Table 3.2 . The result of initial questionnaire, (%)
Nr. Problem area Number of points Percentage of students
Group 1 (of
68
possible) Group 2
(of 72
possible) Group 1 Group 2
1. Like grammar 55 60 24% 25%
2. Uncertainty over the
grammatical structur e 43 49 17.1% 16.2%
3. Uncertainty
expressing rejection
or denial 48 54 19.1% 20%
4. Forming negative 44 52 18% 19%
5. Negative questions 50 58 21% 22.5%
6. Double negation 58 61 25% 25.1%

As it turned out a big number of students ( 24%, 25% ) like grammar of
English language. One problem for learners in studying English grammar is
misunderstanding the cases of using double negation (25%, 25.1%), in the sense
that they do not know in which cases the use of double negation is totally
forbidden and in which cases the double negation is admitted. Once ideas have
been generated in different activities, the learners proved that they know how to
use negative forms. Some students know the correct use of negative forms in
different contexts but the problem is that they didn‘t know to explain the rules
because they use them automatically both in speaking and in written . The 3rd
problem that the learners mentioned in the questionnaire is the uncertainty of
structure of negative questions (21%, 22.5%) and the uncertainty over forming
negatives (18.3%, 19%). Uncerta inty with grammatical structures ( 17.5%, 16.2%)
was other problem for learners.

57
In that way the problems that learners have in relation to various features of
grammar were highlighted and taken into consideration in the process of
investigation.
The purpose of the experiment was to identify the type of activities that
learners are more successful at and to prove the necessity of creating negation
workshop in the classroom, i.e. talking explicitly about the stages of teaching
negation process, applying them into practice and using peer -evaluation at the
stage of revising.
On the first stage of experiment the students were trained in an initial test
based on negation (denying, rejection, the negative form of verbs etc.) in order to
check their knowledge about negation.
After this test, was indentified the level of knowledge of pupils about
negation which in general is a medium -level. At this level learners are able to use
the negative forms in different contexts.
The control group was taught according to the structure suggested by the
course -book using traditional methods. Traditional education is concerned with the
teacher being the controller of the learning environment. In this way, teachers
regard students as having ―knowledge holes‘ that need to be filled with
information. Traditional methods of teaching used during the investigation were
―teacher -dominated interaction ‖. Teaching was deeply teacher -centered and
teacher was the source of the knowledge, while learners were passiv e receivers that
must memorize things. The negative assignment was proposed as a round -up
activity about personal characterization using negative questions . Students were
asked to describe the mselves, what they like/dislike, asking different questions
each other including negative questions:
E.g.: T.: – Aren‘t you polite, Mary? M.: – Yes, I am!
S1.: – Isn‘t John rude? S2.: – No, he is not. John is kind.
T.: – Don‘t you like pizza? S.: – Yes, I like pizza .

58
The experimental group was taught using modern methods. Modern methods
were ―student -centered‖ methods based on ―help learning to happen ‖-role,
communication, interaction, helping students to explore method. The activity
teaching negation was viewed as an independent part of the lesson including all the
stages, i.e. presentation, practice and tasting. The procedure was the following:
1. Presentation
The teacher informs students that they would be asked to describe a person
that they know using negative questions.
In group 1 (control) the following activities were done:
a) Make a simple question , then change it into a negative one:
E.g.: – Is that pretty girl your cousin? Simple Question
– Isn‘t that pretty girl your cousin? Negative Question
b) Presenting a teaching video based on negative questions and the learners
must note down the important information fo r them.
c) Make a simple question, then change it into a negative one:
E.g.: – Is that pretty girl your cousin? Simple Question
– Isn‘t that pretty girl your cousin? Negative Question
d) Write the formulas and the explanation from the blackboard in the note –
books.
e) Presenting a teaching video based on negative questions and the learners
must note down the important information for them.
f) After watching the video the learners must share with their colleagues the
information which wrote in their copy -books.
g) Work in groups. Form a short dialog using negative questions in different
forms and tenses.
In group 2 (experimental one) pupils were involved in such resultative
activities as brainstormin g, peer or teacher -pupil discussion, predictions,
reflecting upon the examples and deducing the formula, explanation,
problematiz ation , audio -visual aids etc.

59
2. Practice
The next stage is to give students an assignment with a clear purpose based on
negative questions. The assignment for the first group (control) was to solve an
exercise given according to the course -book, they had to correct the sentences and
to form corre ctly the negative questions.
In group 2 (experimental) pupils were involved in activities as matching, fill –
in, conversation based on the video, dialogues, situational contexts,
transformations, didactic games as ―Bingo‖ etc.
Receiving the assignment, stud ents are told to prepare a role -play or a
simulation or other related techniq ues and also using their answers from the
previous tasks. They can put down some drafts on the topic in order to revise and
keep in mind all the ideas.
On the second stage of the experiment students from both groups were
supposed to prepare a more concrete activity on the given topic. The work in the
control group was carried out according to the course -book. They were asked to
work in pairs and analyze the form of negative questi ons. There are some examples
of negative questions in the course -book and they have to pay attention to them
and to write them. The grammatical activity was set after analyzing the
explanations and the examples given by the course -book.
The negation activi ty in the experimental group was fulfilled using the result
and answ ers from Presentation exercises . The teacher used also different
worksheets and visual aids in order to be more accessible the information.

3. Testing
Group 1 (control) read sentence by sentence the answers of the exercise from
the course -book and argue their opinion. If one learner committed a mistake, the
teacher explained again the rule.
The learners from the second group (experimental) presented short dialogues
in which they included negative questions. The rest of the class had to listen
carefully and to note the mistakes of their colleagues. Each student receives two

60
copies of a chart. They are asked to fill in one with their Good Character Traits and
the other with Bad Character Tra its by writing examples in each square, in this way
they were able to evaluate themselves and to identify what is bad and what is good
in their behavior.
Students present their products. The dialogues and simulations using negative
questions were analyzed and the outcomes of the discussion were written on the
blackboard.
At the post -experimental stage students were proposed to fill the same
questionnaire they had filled at the pre -experimental stage.
Table 3.3 . The result of post -experimental questionnair e, (%) Group 1
(control)
Nr. Problem area Number of points
(of 68 possible) Percentage drop
1. Like grammar 51 5%
2. Uncertainty over the
grammatical structur e 38 15%
3. Uncertainty expressing
rejection or denial 37 9%
4. Forming negative 39 8%
5. Negative questions 44 9%
6. Double negation 51 5%

Table 3.4 . The result of post -experimental questionnaire, (%) Group 2
(experimental)
Nr. Problem area Number of points
(of 72 possible) Percentage drop
1. Like grammar 32 52%
2. Uncertainty over the
grammatical structur e 30 47%

61
3. Uncertainty expressing
rejection or denial 29 32%
4. Forming negative 36 31%
5. Negative questions 35 42%
6. Double negation 32 53%
Moreover, learners from the experimental group (Group 2) were asked to
share their opinions on grammar assignments based on negation they had
performed. They were given a feedback questionnaire on their speaking
activities.
Table 3.5. Students Feedback Questionnaire
Make a check mark to show your agreement or disagreement with the
following
Nr. Statements Agree Disagree
1. Techniques which were used did not help me to
practice. 1 14
2. The purpose of grammar was clear for me. 13 2
3. I found nothing different from previous grammar
tasks I had done. 2 13
4. Work at each stage was set up clearly. 14 1
5. Presentation tasks helped me to understand better
the negative questions. 14 1
6. The way the tasks were designed was interesting. 13 2
7. I participated better during class, group, pair work. 12 3
8. I was not involved emotionally and cognitively
during individual work. 2 13
9. Some of the tasks were confusing. 1 14
10. Similar tasks should be designed during the school
year. 14 1

62
As it turned fast all the students have progresses in learning English negation
when using the up to date methods, and they spend not so much time already on
expressing their ideas verbally or in written form.
3.2. Results of the experiment
After hav ing analyz ed negation exercises fulfilled by the students and having
compared learners‘ questionnaire completed before and after the experiment, there
were distinguish significant changes on students perception of grammar tasks on
negation and the results achieved b y the learners in Group 2, i.e. experimental
group. Considering two diagrams reflecting the difficulties encountered by the
students during the negation activities, it is easy to notice that the amount of
difficulties that learners have in relation to vari ous features of negation has
decreased.
Figure 3.6. Difficulties encountered by the students during the negation
activities (Group 2 -experimental)

60
4954 5258 61
010203040506070
Liking
grammar Uncertainty
over
grammatical
structureUncertainty
expressing
rejection or
denialForming
negativeNegative
questionsDouble
negation Before the experiment
3230 29263532
0510152025303540
Liking
grammarUncertainty
over
grammatical
structureUncertainty
expressing
rejection or
denial Forming
negativeNegative
questionsDouble
negationAfter the experiment

63
The given diagrams illustrate results of the questionnaire filled by the learners
of Group 2 before and after the experiment.
Let us compare the two diagrams. The quantity of diffic ulties that students
have when want to reject or deny something has lessen ed almost twice (from 63 to
32 points). These results were achieved due to the presentation and practice
techniques used during the experiment. Formulation of negative questions is one of
the most difficult and inhibiting of the understanding negative ques tions process,
such presentation activities as brainstorming, peer or teacher -pupil discussion,
predictions, reflecting upon the examples and deducing the formula, explanation,
problematiz ation , audio -visual aids helped students to generate ideas. Discussions
and brainstorming were used as an organized display of information which was
easily converted into clear ideas. As a result, the amount of difficulties encountered
by the learners lied to grammatical structure has decreased almost twice (from 5 1
to 30 points) the other technique that enabled students to unders tand better
negative questions was the didactic game ―Bingo‖. It specifies the content of the
assignment and helps learners to understand better grammar rules.
The process of drafting and revising the grammar rules questions as well as
presentation activities helped students to lessen th e problem of formation negative
(from 52 to 26 points) forming negative questions (from 58 to 35 points) selection
(appropriateness). When students formulat e their first ideas they are asked to
concentrate more on the meaning of the sentences then on style and grammar. This
helps to reduce the feeling of uncertainty and encourages learners to use grammar
rules more freely and to feel satisfied with their work . Peer evaluation gives
students the possibility to exchange their ideas with their partners and to consider
their work from another perspective.
Though more time is spent on pre sentation and redrafting stages the whole
amount of time used for fulfilling the assignments is practically equal in both
experimental and control groups. Students of the experimental group do not waste
much time on generating their ideas and compiling correct sentences with correct

64
formulation of negative questions and answers to those questions as they do it
working together at the pre sentation stage.
On considering students‘ feedback questionnaires, it was evident that most
students were satisfied with the grammar assignments based on negation they had
fulfilled. The results obt ained after analyzing all questionnaires of the control
Group 1 showed that the amount of difficulties students encounter while fulfilling
grammar assignments has remained practically unchanged. The following charts
illustrate this fact.
Figure 3.7 . Difficulties encountered by the students during the process of
speaking ( Group 1)

It is obvious that the amount of difficulties represented by Group 2 activity
practically hasn‘t been changed after the experiment. 55
4348445058
010203040506070
Liking
grammarUncertainty
over
grammatical
structureUncertainty
expressing
rejection or
denialForming
negativeNegative
questionsDouble
negation Before the experiment
51
38 37334451
0102030405060
Liking
grammarUncertainty
over
grammatical
structureUncertainty
expressing
rejection or
denialForming
negativeNegative
questionsDouble
negationAfter the experiment

65
In general students from the experim ental group were more successful at
fulfilling al l the assignments. The best results were shown during their
presentations. Students felt sure about what and how to use the negative questions .
As all the details had been established at the pre sentation stage, learners had no
difficulti es at preparing their tasks , developing and expressing their ideas in group
work . The information represented dur ing the presentation stage was transformed
into a number of independent, coherent dialogues on the given topi c.
After having presenting the students‘ dialogues with negative questions and
exercises of both groups there was made the analysis of mistakes made by the
learners. The results of the analysis and the difference in percentage between two
groups are shown by the table below.
Table 3.8. The analysis of mistakes after presented discourses, (%)
Kinds of irregularities Number of mistakes Percentage
difference Group 1 Group 2
Grammatical skills 61 45 31%
Complexity of sentence structure 23 10 39%
Word order 37 12 51%
Use of vocabulary 17 8 41%

The data from the table illustrate the fact that learners of the experimental
group have done approximately 38% of mistakes less than the learners of the
control group. This proves the fact that the activities from presentation stage , peer
evaluation and clear staging of the negation teaching process is o f great use for
acquiring good grammatical skills. A ctivities proposed at presentation stage helped
the learners to gain the knowledge of grammatica l rules and other information that
are necessary for performing the certain negation assignment. Peer evaluation
gives the learners opportunity to revise their work and to get aware of the mistakes
done by them and by their partners.

66
CONCLUSIONS
The preceding pages have described the findings and results based on the
research. It investigated the complexity of negation, its importance in the language
system and its connections with disciplines such as Psychology, Sociology etc.
demand an urgent need for supplementary research in the area. No doubt, this will
contribute to clarify new features and aspects of the English polarity system which
has been traditionally left aside or examined in purely abstract terms without
getting deeper into the actual us e of the language.
The present research project was an attempt to examine effective techniques
of various methodologists and their way regarding teaching negation, to specify
difficulties of students in the process of using negative forms and to determine
more effective techniques that eliminate these difficulties and that stimulate
grammar through negation as a productive skill at the intermediate level.
In this research it is proved that grammatical structures and rules are difficult
for learners because they should memorize definitions , verbs, exceptions and they
have to retain them while hearing a phrase or a sentence and recognize this as a
sense unit. Pupils can easily and naturally do this in their own language and they
cannot do this in a foreign language when they start learning the language. Here
are cleared up some facts about brainstorming, discus sion and other related
techniques and their importance in teaching negation .
This research started with the theory and statistics. Thus, the first
conclusions will be of theoretical nature, then this will be followed by practical
ones, and after that follo w the analysis of the experiment.
1. Negation defines the polar opposition of affirmative, denies the
existence or vaguely – a refutation. Negation means that you add something into a
sentence that negates, or reverses, the meaning of that sentence.
2. In English grammar , negation is a grammatical construction that
contradicts (or negates) all or part of the meaning of a sentence. Also known as a
negative construction or standard negation .

67
3. The capacity to negate is important for everyone because it is the
capacity to refuse, to contradict, to lie, to speak ironically, to distinguish truth from
falsity —in short, the capacity to be human. This research offers a unique synthesis
of past and current work on the structure, meaning, and use of negative
expressions. It draws from work in the philosophy of language and mind, in
psychology, and in linguistics (from the interacting levels of morphology, syntax,
semantics, pragmatics, and lexicon).
4. Grammatical difficulties among them and difficulties of use and
understand negation are one of the most significant problems that affect students. It
is often difficult for teachers to identify their weaknesses until students hadn‘t a
paper test. For this reason before to start the experiment, learners were distributed a
questionnaire whose purpose was to reveal difficulties that students encounter
while performing negation assignments. The result of pre -experimental
questionnaire shows that most of student s find difficult to understand double
negation. The other problems which students have are: difficulties in forming
negative questions, uncertainty when express rejection or denials and poor spelling
skills. The results of amount of difficulties after expe riment show that the quantity
of difficulties has significantly lessened. These results were achieved due
techniques used during the experiment.
5. The variety of approaches of teaching grammar allows teachers to use
the appropriate methods and techniques for teaching negation at the Intermediate
level. Such interactive methods as: brainstorming, didactic games, discovering
technique, dialogues, matching, transformations etc . engage the students and form
to them the skills to operate freely with negative forms.
6. After the experiment was carried out, it is visible the difference
between the experimental and control group. Difficulties lied to negation of
students from experimental group has decreased with approximately 35%
compared to control group. Accordin g to the statements , it is visible that all the
techniques and strategies helped most of them to improve their grammatical
abilities.

68
7. It was proved that e ffective teaching and good selection of teaching
methods is important because teaching is based on hel ping children progress from
one level to another in a more sociable interactive environment and to get the
approach right to get students to be independent learners. Effectiveness does not
mean being perfect or giving a wonderful performance, but bringing out the best in
students.
8. Also through this experiment it was proved that the use of interactive
and modern methods and techniques of teaching are more efficient than the
traditional ones. Because traditional techni ques used repetition and memorization
of information to educate students, it meant that they were not developing
their critical thinking , problem solving and decision -making skills. Modern
learning encourages students to collaborate and therefore be more productive.
Saying that, traditional and modern teaching methods are both effective and useful
in today‘s education. We need to understand when a traditional method works
best and when it‘s right to try new and innovative approaches.
This reach material can be used for improve one‘s knowledge in studying
methods of teaching negation of English language as a productive skill. Various
activities based on negation such as those listed above can contribute in developing
basic interactive skil ls necessary for life.
In conclusion it should be said that negation is shown to be important for the
study of relevance . Oral and written exercises are q uite indispensable to develop
the understanding of negative structures , and communication takes a meaningful
place in the process of developing grammatical skills. Negation activities
contribute considerable to pupil‘s communicative and writing abilities, becoming a
good advantage for every phase of their life. Each level has its own methods,
activities and all of these parts should be present at each stage of an effective
teaching grammar program.

69
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APPENDIXES

Appendix 1. Negation in English

74

Name______________
Understanding Negation
1. Circle the pictures that are NOT birds.

2. Cross out the pictures that are NOT foods.

3. Circle the pictures that are NOT vehicles.

4. Cross out the pictures that are NOT body parts.

5. Circle the pictures t hat are NOT musical instruments.

Appendix 2.

75
Which is not round?

Appendix 3.
Which one can not write?
Which one is not hot?
Which one is not wearing socks?
Which one does not have wings?

76
English Grammar Review
What are “Negative Questions”?
Sometimes, questions aren‘t really questions at all. Speakers of English
often want to confirm information we think we know. In other words, we might
know something about a fact and we simply want to know if it is true or not. We
also use negative questions to offer an opinion , polite requests and offers. When
someone uses a negative question, be careful with your answer! See more
information and examples below

“Confirmation” Negative Questions
 Don’t you like to read? (Yes, I do or No, I don‘t)
 Didn’t you visit the doctor yesterday? (Yes, I did or No, I didn‘t)
 Aren’t you going to work today? (Yes, I am or No, I am not)
 Weren’t you at the party last night? (Yes, I was or No, I was not)
 Hasn’t the postman arrived yet? (Yes, he has or No, he hasn‘t)
 Haven’t you eaten breakfast yet? (Yes, I have or No, I haven‘t)

“Opinion” Negative Questions
 Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a new car? (Yes, it would be or No, it
wouldn‘t)
 Wouldn’t it be great if you could drive a car? (Yes, it would / No, It
wouldn‘t)

“Polite Request” Negative Questions
o Why don’t you have dinner with us tonight? (I would love that)
o Why don’t you join us at the beach house? (I would love too)

“Offer” Negative Questions
 Wouldn’t you like another cup of tea? (I would like that, thank you)
 Wouldn’t you like another slice of pizza? (Yes, I‘ll have another)
Remember, a negative question isn‘t a question at all. When someone uses
a negative question, simply answer with the truth. You might use a simple ―yes or
no‖ with a follow up statement. Th ere is more to this subject. Ask your teacher to
explain and help you practice this subject.
Appendix 4 .

77
Not – Instruct the student to use “not”. Use complete sentences.

1) Is a square round or not round?

A square is __________________.

2) Is an ice cube hot or not hot?

An ice cube is ________________.

3) Is a cherry yellow or not yellow?

A cherry is __________________.

4) Is a ball not a toy or is it a toy? (Be careful!)

A ball is ___________________.

5) Is your name Ed or is it not Ed?

My name is _________________.

6) Can you wear an apple or not wear an apple?

I can _______________________.

7) Are you a grown up or not a grown up?

I am _______________________.

8) Does a shoe go on your hand or not go on your hand?

A shoe does ________________.

9) Can you fly or can you not fly?

I can ______________________.

Appendix 6.