Exercises

Exercise 1. Translate the following sentences into Russian.

1. There wasn’t too much time, but this time I didn’t hurry. 2. There are not many people who’ve had the experiences I’ve had in one way and another. 3. I felt that there was not a moment to waste. 4. He felt happy now. There was not anything that was irrevocable. 5. There was no time to find out. what was going on. 6. Today, there is not so much to do. 7. «There aren’t many things you really want, are there?» «Not many,» she said. 8. There was no doubt that she was a very frightened woman. 9. There was not a ripple on the surface of the water. 10. There really wasn’t enough time. 11. Dazed, she went to the door and knocked loudly. There was no answer. 12. There wasn’t much else to say.

Exercise 2. Complete and expand on the following sentences.

1. Don’t you worry. There won’t be any ... 2. There was nothing to ... 3. These few weeks when there was not much ... 4. I used the house phone to call Mary, but there was no ... 5. It was still pretty early and there were not many ... 6. I believe that, all in all, there is not so much ... 7. There isn’t anything ... 8. There wasn’t much ... 9. I was sure there was not ... 10. Do you know if there are ...? 11. There wasn’t a nerve in my body ... 12. There was not a note of welcome ... 13. There was nothing to be ... 14. There’s no comparison at all ... 15. There were not many other things ...

Exercise 3. Translate the following sentences into English.

1. В магазине было немного народу. 2. Я позвонил еще раз, но ответа не последовало. 3. Работы было мало (немного), и он успел за неделю хорошо отдохнуть. 4. Не волнуйтесь. Никаких неприятностей не будет. 5. На небе не было ни облачка, погода была изумительная. 6. По-моему, между ними не было никакой разницы. 7. На подоконнике было не два и не три, а десять горшков с цветами. 8. Времени явно недостаточно, мы не успеем все закончить к вечеру. 9. Вокруг никого не было, и ей стало страшно. 10. Денег было не очень много, и ей пришлось сократить свои расходы. 11. В сахарнице недостаточно сахару — добавьте, пожалуйста, еще немного. 12. В комиссии, к сожалению, нет ни одного представителя от нашей группы. 13. Делать нечего! 14. Без сомнения, он сделал все, что было в его силах. 15. Нет розы без шипов. 16. Он попросил дать ему поесть, но в доме ничего не оказалось. 17. На новом пенале еще не было ни царапины. 18. Других предложений не последовало.

8. The verb to have in negative sentences examples

1. We’ve no money to buy furniture with. 2. I have no wish to go behind the facts. 3. I had no intention of leaving the ship. 4. Bertha couldn’t help feeling, even from this distance, that it (the tree) had not a single bud or a faded petal. 5. He assured him that he would have not the slightest difficulty in effecting a quick sale. 6. She pitied the poor young gentleman for having no one to look after him.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

1. The negation no is never followed by a noun with an arcicle; nor is it followed by the pronouns any (anyone, anything, anybody), some (someone, something, somebody), none (nothing, nobody), another; by the adjectives many, much, few, little, enough, single.

Normally, it is followed by a noun without any article. The noun may be modified by an adjective or the pronoun other.

2. Normally, the negation not is not followed by the pronouns other, some, something, somebody. The negation not may be followed by: the pronouns any, any other, another, anything, anybody, anyone; the adjectives many, much, few, little (these, in their turn, may be modified by so or very); (a) single, enough; the numerals one, two, three, etc.

3. The negation not may be also followed directly by a noun with the definite or the indefinite article. Normally, a noun with the definite article is used if this noun is modified by an adjective in the superlative degree. If the negation not is followed by a noun with the indefinite article, it may mean (not necessarily!) not a single.

4. In British colloquial style the form have got is often used instead of have. E.g. He’s got no card. «What napkins? I’ve never seen any.» «They haven’t got any napkins.»

5. The negative meaning is often expressed in modern English by means of the negative form of the verb to have formed with the help of the auxiliary verb to do. E.g. Ossie did not have so much time to worry about Daniel now. We didn’t have much difficulty.