ANY AND OTHER NON-ASSERTIVE WORDS

Unlike many languages, Standard English does not favor cumulative negation, that is a ‘not’ negative together with one or more nuclear negatives in one clause, such as *We’re not going nowhere, although this is a feature of certain dialects. Instead the first negative item is followed throughout the rest of the clause by one or more nonassertive items such as any or its compounds, as in:

We’re not going anywhere with any of our friends.

I didn’t say anything about it to anyone.

It is important to remember that the ‘any’ words in English (any, anyone, anybody, anything, anywhere, AmE anyplace)) are not in themselves negative. In order to be used in a negative clause they must be preceded by not or a negative word; they must be within the ‘scope of negation’. So instead of Nobody came, it is not acceptable to say *Anybody came or *Anybody didn’t come. These are ungrammatical and meaningless, hence the deliberate oddity of e.e. cummings’ poem ‘Anyone lived in a little how town’.

The any words (together with ever and yet, among others) are what we call ‘non- assertive’ items, as opposed to some and its compounds, which are ‘assertive’. Assertive forms have factual meanings and typically occur in positive declarative clauses. Non-assertive words such as any are associated with non-factual meanings in the sense of non-fulfilment or potentiality, which is a feature of negative, interrogative, conditional and comparative clauses, and semi-negative words such as without and hardly, among others. It is, in fact, the general non-factual meaning, rather than any particular structure which provides the context for non-assertive items to be used:

We have some very good coffee. (declarative, factual)

This coffee is better than any I have ever tasted. (comparative, non-factual)

If you want any more coffee, you must make it yourself. (conditional, non-factual)

Did you say anything? (interrogative, non-factual)

Didn’t you go anywhere interesting? (interrogative-negative, non-factual)

Without any delay.

Hardly anyone knew his name.

Stressed any is used in positive declarative clauses, and has a non-factual meaning (= it doesn’t matter which/who);

Choose any of the questions in section 1.

Anybody with a bit of sense would have refused to go.

Any house is better than no house.

Here is a summary of assertive and non-assertive items:

اخر الاخبار

اخبار العتبة العباسية المقدسة

وفد العتبة العباسية المقدسة يزور قضاء آمرلي ويشيد بجهود أهاليه في دعم الشعبين الإيراني واللبناني

قسم التطوير يقيم دورة عن أخلاقيات المهنة ضمن البرنامج التأهيلي لمنتسبي العتبة العباسية المقدسة الجدد

شعبة التوجيه الديني النسوي تحيي ذكرى ولادة الإمام الرضا (عليه السلام)

في ذكرى ولادته.. قسم الشؤون الدينية يستذكر فضائل الإمام الرضا (عليه السلام)

المزيد

الآخبار الصحية

أطعمة مفيدة وأخرى ضارة للأسنان

دراسة تكشف تأثيرا خفيا لتناول المانجو والأفوكادو معاً

لكسر الإدمان وحماية الصحة.. بدائل طبيعية للسكر المعالج

قرار تاريخي في بريطانيا.. منع التدخين تماما لمواليد 2008

المزيد

الآخبار التكنلوجية

10 أخطاء يومية تدمّر سيارتك ومحركها بصمت: كيف تحافظ عليها؟

روسيا.. تطوير هيدروجيل حيوي لتحسين كفاءة الري وتنظيم رطوبة التربة

حل لغز البرق البركاني ؟

تطبيق ذكاء اصطناعي يتصفح الإنترنت ومنصات التواصل بدلا عنك !

المزيد

مواضيع ذات صلة

THE SCOPE OF NEGATION

Componence, realization and function

Classes of words

Classes of groups

THE CONTENT OF COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATIVE ACTS

LANGUAGE AND MEANING

Grammatical Function Change

Affixation in the item-and-process and item-and-arrangement models

Inflection vs. Derivation

Lexemes

An outline of grammatical evolution Conclusions