9 August 2022

Interchange of Affirmative and Negative Sentences

English Grammar

Affirmative sentences can be transformed into Negative sentences in the following ways:

By putting a negative prefix or a word having the opposite meaning (Antonym) after a negative word like “no”, “not”, “never”, etc.

Affirmative Negative
He is a bad boy. He is not a good boy.
He is sometimes lazy. He is not always active.
Your answer is right. Your answer is not wrong.
This information is true. This information is not false.
He is rich. He is not poor.
The knife is blunt. The knife is not sharp.
I shall always remember you. I shall never forget you.
This is possible. This is not impossible.
He always minds his lessons. He never neglects his lessons.
Everybody will admit it. Nobody will deny it.
I was doubtful if he would come. I was not sure that he would come.
All must die. No one can escape death.
I came here for the first time. I did not come here before.
He is competent for the post. He is not incompetent for the post.
Man is mortal. Man is not immortal.

By using Double Negatives:

Affirmative Negative
I know his name. It is not that I do not know his name.
He loves you. He is not without love for you.
I am hopeful. I am not without hope.
He tried all plan. He left no plan untried.
Everyone present cheered. There was no one present who did not cheer.
He saw you. He did not fail to see you.
He wanted to fight. He did not want not to fight.
We finished everything. We left nothing unfinished.

Removing or using ‘too’:

Affirmative Negative
He is too weak to carry this bag. He is so weak that he cannot carry this bag.
They are so good that they would help others. They are too good not to help others.

By interchanging Degrees of Comparison :

Affirmative Negative
He is as strong as you. You are not stronger than he.
Partha is the best boy in the class. No other boy in the class is so good as Partha.
You are more intelligent than he. He is not so intelligent as you.

By the use of “No sooner……. than’:

Affirmative Negative
As soon as he saw me he began to weep. No sooner did he see me than he began to weep.

By the use of the words ‘none’, ‘but’, etc.

Affirmative Negative
Only students are allowed to enter the hall. None but the students are allowed to enter the hall.
He must yield to necessity. He cannot but yield to necessity.
You are the only person fit for the post. No other person but you is fit for the post.
You must attend the meeting. You cannot but attend the meeting.

Miscellaneous

Affirmative Negative
It is often difficult to speak the truth. It is not always easy to speak the truth.
Every rose has a thorn. There is no rose without a thorn.
It always pours when it rains. It never rains but it pours.
All must submit to destiny. No one can escape destiny.
I like only sweets. I like nothing but sweets.

In converting Negatives into Affirmative, we reverse the procedure.

Interchange of Affirmative and Negative Sentences Exercises

Change the following into Negative sentences :

  1. I must obey you.
  2. Only Ram was present there.
  3. mal is strong.
  4. All were present in the meeting.
  5. He failed to pass in the examination.
  6. He was stronger than his brother.
  7. He is sometimes foolish.
  8. Everybody liked her.
  9. He is as clever as you.
  10. You alone can do this.

Change the following into Affirmative

  1. He did not pass the examination.
  2. I am not an unreasonable man.
  3. Ruma is not so tall as Rekha.
  4. There is none but wishes to be happy.
  5. I was never absent in the class.
  6. I shall not forget you.
  7. I must not disobey you.
  8. He was not helpful to others.
  9. No one can deny that he is clever.
  10. He did not live long.

Related Posts