He only found the book.
He found only the book.
He found the book only.
The placing of the words, almost, ever, hardly, scarcely, merely, and quite, also requires care and thought.
Exercise 25
Correct the errors in the location of adjectives and adverbs in the following sentences:
- I only paid five dollars.
- I have only done six problems.
- The clothing business is only profitable in large towns.
- The school is only open in the evening.
- I only need ten minutes in which to do it.
- He had almost climbed to the top when the ladder broke.
- I never expect to see the like again.
- A black base-ball player's suit was found.
- Do you ever remember to have seen the man before?
- The building was trimmed with granite carved corners.
- People ceased to wonder gradually.
- The captain only escaped by hiding in a ditch.
- I never wish to think of it again.
- On the trip in that direction he almost went to Philadelphia.
- Acetylene lamps are only used now in the country.
- He only spoke of history, not of art.
- I know hardly what to say.
- I was merely talking of grammar, not of English literature.
- The girls were nearly dressed in the same color.
- He merely wanted to see you.
46. Double Negatives. I am here is called an affirmative statement. A denial of that, I am not here, is called a negative statement. The words, not, neither, never, none, nothing, etc., are all negative words; that is, they serve to make denials of statements.
Two negatives should never be used in the same sentence, since the effect is then to deny the negative you wish to assert, and an affirmative is made where a negative is intended. We haven't no books, means that we have some books. The proper negative form would be, We have no books, or We haven't any books. The mistake occurs usually where such forms as isn't, don't, haven't, etc., are used. Examine the following sentences:
| Wrong: It isn't no use. |
| Wrong: There don't none of them believe it. |
| Wrong: We didn't do nothing. |