negative words and sentences by eguriase s. m. okaka

NEGATIVE WORDS and SENTENCES

BY EGURIASE S. M. OKAKA Negative sentence simply have the opposite meaning to positive sentence. Let us consider the following sentences: Positive: I am used to reading all night. Negative: I am not used to reading all night. Positive: Adamu sometimes drives his father’s car. Negative: Adamu never drives his father’s car. The most important negative word is not. The word not makes a whole sentence, clause, or phrase negative; its short form –n’t. Examples • Do not – don’t • Has not – hasn’t • Have not – haven’t • Cannot – can’t • Will not – won’t • Was not – wasn’t • Would not – wouldn’t • Did not – didn’t • Need not needn’t • Were not – weren’t Other negatives words include: a. Neither, No one, Neither… nor b. None, Never, Nor c. No, Nothing d. Nobody, Nowhere Sentence Examples • Neither skirt looks good on you. (applies to both skirts) • Neither my brother nor his wife can drive. • I would never do anything to hurt my sister. • ‘Would you like some pizza? No, I’m fine, thanks.’ • Nobody can use the room except John. • No one was allowed into the theatre. • None of us wanted to wait for dinner. • Helen couldn’t work out the puzzle, nor could I. • There is nothing more dangerous than drug addiction. • After the incident, Mr. Dickson had nowhere to live. Other words with negative meaning In addition to the words mentioned above, these words these have a negative meaning. • Few, little, rarely, seldom, hardly, scarcely, barely. Sentence Examples • Unfortunately, the hospital has few doctors. ( = not many ) • My father remembers little about the incident. • I rarely see eclipse during winter. • I have seldom seen a more skillful performance by the team. • Hardly a day passes without a quarrel in my class. • Scarcely had Bayo opened the gate when the dog came running in. • Bola had barely sat down before his sister started complaining. Note Avoid putting two negative words together in a sentence. Don’t say: I never don’t drive at night. (Wrong) Say: I never drive at night. (Right) Don’t say: Say she didn’t call none of her friends. (Wrong) Say: Say didn’t call any of her friends. (Right) Exercise Fill the blanks with suitable words from the box. One has been done for you. Neither….nor Never Any Neither None Seldom Few Scarcely Hardly • Neither parent cares for the child. • My sister ----------- reads newspapers. • ------------------ Jane ------------------ Laura likes football. • I will ----------------- forget what our teacher taught us in class. • There’s ----------------- any tea left in the pot. • --------------- of my friends calls me any longer. • --------------- Student who attempts to cheat during the examination will be punished. • The film had ------------ started when there was a power cut. • ---------------- People attended the party. Listening Comprehension Listening comprehension helps you to develop the skill of listening and understanding what you have heard. Listening is a very useful skill and it is important that you take it seriously. These are the three important skills that aid listening. • Comprehension: learn to pay attention to the appropriate sounds so as to determine the context and meaning of words. This will help you to understand the sentences. Avoid distractions when listening. • Retaining what you have listened to: remember that you can’t remember everything you have listened to but try as much as possible to remember most of it. Always pay attention when listening. • Responding: if you have listened attentively and have applied these skills, you will then be able to answer the questions on the passage. Activity for the Teacher Now listen attentively as your teacher reads a passage on ‘Human rights abuse’. Questions • What is human rights abuse? • What are the examples of human right abuse mentioned in the passage? • What kind of human right abuses are committed by militants and terrorist group? • What kinds of abuses are committed by security services? • What kind of human rights abuses are carried out by government officials? • Who do government officials use to carry out their own brand of human right abuses? Summary Writing Proteins A molecule of protein contains carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen atoms, sometimes sulphur, rarely and phosphorus atoms as well. Proteins are complex substances itemed by combinations amino acids which combine in a large variety of ways to form different proteins. Foods sources of proteins include meat, fish, egg, milk, butter, cheese, beans groundnuts, and soya beans. Proteins are body-builder food substances. They are used to syntheses protoplasm for growth and repair of wear and tear. Proteins may be oxidized during respiration to produce energy for vital activities and heat to maintain body temperature. Excess proteins in the body cannot be stored as such. They are broken down in the liver to amino acids, which are further broken down to carbohydrates and stored glycogen. The conversion of amino acid to carbohydrate involves the removal of the amino group in the amino acid molecules (deamination). This results in the formation of ammonium waste compounds, which are converted by the liver into urea and excreted through urine. Summary questions • What is stored as glycogen in the liver started its conversion process as a. Carbohydrates b. Amino acid c. Proteins d. Molecule • Select the statement that is supported by the passage. a. Determination of the removal of the amino group in the amino acid molecule. b. Excess proteins are stored in the liver. c. The liver does not connect carbohydrates to amino acids. d. Proteins cannot be oxidized to produce energy • Which one of the following is the topic sentence of one of the paragraphs in the passage? a. Proteins are body-building food substances. b. The conversion of amino acid….involves the removal of the amino acids group…. c. This result in the formation….through urine. d. Proteins are complex substances…which combine to form different proteins. • Which are one of the following is not true of proteins. a. Protein are responsible growth b. Food sources of proteins include cheese, groundnut, yam, rice, and egg. c. Proteins may be oxidized to produce energy d. Fish is one of the sources of protein. • The main purpose of the passage is to a. Describe the nature, function and sources of proteins. b. Account for sources proteins. c. Explain the problems associate with excess protein. d. Narrate the story of how proteins were used in the past. By Eguriase S. M. Okaka