SKILL 7: LISTEN FOR NEGATIVE EXPRESSIONS

Sometimes you will hear a negative expression in a conversation. Often the correct answer will contain an opposite word.

Example:

(Man) How did you get to your grandmother’s house in Maine in only five hours?

(Woman) Well, we didn’t exactly drive slowly.

(Question) What does the woman say about the trip?

In your test book, you read:

(A) She drove rather quickly.

(B) She couldn’t have driven more slowly.

(C) She wanted to drive slowly to Maine.

(D) She didn’t drive to Maine.

As we can see in this conversation, the woman didn’t drive slowly. The correct answer is A, has the word quickly, which is the opposite of slowly. Therefore, it has the same meaning as not slowly.

Watch out for these kinds of negative expressions:

Regular negative with not or ’nt:

       That isn’t the right key. -> That’s the wrong key.

Other negative words: nobody, none, nothing, never

     Nobody arrived on time. -> Everybody was late.

     Edward never works hard. ->Edward is lazy.

Negative prefixes: un-, in-, dis-

    Tom felt unhappy. -> Tom felt sad.

    He was impolite.  -> He was rude.

    The workers disconnected the phone. -> They took it apart.

If you want to Know more about this Listening skill Clic HERE for more information.