Affirmative to Negative: Rules with Examples
Affirmative to Negative (হ্যাঁ-বোধক থেকে না-বোধক)
Introductionভূমিকা
Changing an affirmative sentence into a negative one is not about adding 'not'. The examiner wants the same meaning in the opposite form, and that only works if you know which word to swap: only becomes none but, must becomes cannot but, always becomes never. Learn the swaps and the item becomes mechanical.
হ্যাঁ-বোধক বাক্যকে না-বোধক করা মানে শুধু 'not' বসানো নয়। পরীক্ষক চান **একই অর্থ, উল্টো গঠনে** — আর সেটা তখনই হয় যখন জানেন কোন শব্দটা বদলাতে হবে: only → none but, must → cannot but, always → never। বদলগুলো শিখে ফেললে এই আইটেম যান্ত্রিক হয়ে যায়।
Definitionসংজ্ঞা
Affirmative to negative transformation means rewriting a positive sentence in a negative form while keeping its meaning exactly the same — usually by replacing a key word with its negative equivalent rather than by simply inserting 'not'.
Affirmative to negative রূপান্তর মানে একটি হ্যাঁ-বোধক বাক্যকে না-বোধক গঠনে লেখা, অথচ অর্থ হুবহু একই রাখা — সাধারণত শুধু 'not' বসিয়ে নয়, বরং মূল শব্দটিকে তার না-বোধক প্রতিশব্দ দিয়ে বদলে।
Bangla Explanationবাংলা ব্যাখ্যা
SSC ইংরেজি দ্বিতীয় পত্রে 'Changing sentences' আইটেমটি **১০ নম্বরের**, আর তার ভেতরে affirmative ↔ negative সবচেয়ে বেশি আসে। **নিয়মগুলো টেবিল আকারে মুখস্থ করুন:** | হ্যাঁ-বোধক | না-বোধক | |---|---| | Only (ব্যক্তি) | **None but** | | Only (বস্তু) | **Nothing but** | | Only (সংখ্যা) | **None else than / Not more than** | | Must | **Cannot but** + base verb | | Must | **Cannot help** + verb-ing | | As soon as | **No sooner had … than** | | Both … and | **Not only … but also** | | Always | **Never** | | Sometimes | **Not always** | | Many | **Not a few** | | A few | **Not many** | | Much | **Not a little** | | A little | **Not much** | | Everyone / Every + noun | **There is no one who does not …** | | Superlative | **No other + singular noun + is so … as** | | As … as | **Not less … than** | **উদাহরণসহ দেখুন:** - Only Allah can help us. → **None but** Allah can help us. - I have only ten taka. → I have **nothing but** ten taka. - We must obey our parents. → We **cannot but obey** our parents. / We **cannot help obeying** our parents. - As soon as he came, the bell rang. → **No sooner had** he come **than** the bell rang. - He is both honest and kind. → He is **not only** honest **but also** kind. - He always speaks the truth. → He **never** tells a lie. **Superlative-এর নিয়মটা আলাদা করে দেখুন** — এটি প্রায় প্রতি বছর আসে: - Dhaka is the **biggest** city in Bangladesh. - → **No other city** in Bangladesh **is so big as** Dhaka. লক্ষ করুন: 'other' বসেছে, বিশেষ্যটি **একবচন** হয়েছে, আর superlative ভেঙে **positive degree** হয়েছে। **সবচেয়ে বড় ফাঁদ:** অর্থ উল্টে ফেলা। 'He is a good boy' → 'He is not a bad boy' ঠিক আছে; কিন্তু 'He is not a good boy' লিখলে অর্থই বদলে গেল, নম্বর শূন্য। রূপান্তরের পর নিজেকে প্রশ্ন করুন — **দুটি বাক্য কি একই কথা বলছে?**
Examplesউদাহরণ
- Only Rahim knows the answer. → None but Rahim knows the answer.'Only' + ব্যক্তি → 'None but'।
- He must go now. → He cannot but go now.'Must' → 'cannot but' + base verb; 'cannot help going' লিখলেও চলবে।
- As soon as he arrived, it began to rain. → No sooner had he arrived than it began to rain.'No sooner had' + V3 + 'than' + past simple — ক্রমটা মনে রাখুন।
- Iron is the most useful metal. → No other metal is so useful as iron.Superlative → 'No other' + একবচন বিশেষ্য + 'so … as'।
- Everybody loves flowers. → There is no one who does not love flowers.'Everybody' → 'There is no one who does not' — দুটি না মিলে হ্যাঁ বোঝায়।
- He is as strong as his brother. → He is not less strong than his brother.'As … as' → 'not less … than'।
- Many students were present. → Not a few students were present.'Many' → 'not a few'; উল্টোভাবে 'a few' → 'not many'।
Common Mistakesসাধারণ ভুল
He is a good boy. → He is not a good boy.
He is a good boy. → He is not a bad boy.
The transformation must keep the meaning. Adding 'not' to the same adjective reverses it instead.
Only Allah can help. → Nothing but Allah can help.
Only Allah can help. → None but Allah can help.
'None but' is for people, 'nothing but' is for things. Choosing the wrong one costs the mark.
No sooner he came than the bell rang.
No sooner had he come than the bell rang.
Starting with 'no sooner' inverts the clause: had + subject + past participle.
Dhaka is the biggest city. → No other cities are so big as Dhaka.
Dhaka is the biggest city. → No other city is so big as Dhaka.
After 'no other' the noun stays singular and the verb agrees with it.
We must respect our teachers. → We cannot but respecting our teachers.
We cannot but respect our teachers. / We cannot help respecting our teachers.
'Cannot but' takes the base verb; only 'cannot help' takes the -ing form.
Tipsটিপস
- Find the key word first — only, must, always, both, as soon as, or a superlative. That word decides the whole answer. — আগে মূল শব্দটা খুঁজুন — only, must, always, both, as soon as, বা superlative। ওই শব্দই পুরো উত্তর ঠিক করে দেয়।
- After rewriting, read both sentences together. If the meaning changed, the answer is wrong however good the grammar. — লেখার পর দুটি বাক্য পাশাপাশি পড়ুন। অর্থ বদলে গেলে ব্যাকরণ যতই ঠিক হোক, উত্তর ভুল।
- For superlatives, remember three changes at once: no other, singular noun, positive degree. — Superlative-এ একসাথে তিনটি বদল: 'no other', একবচন বিশেষ্য, আর positive degree।
- Two negatives in one sentence make a positive — that is how 'there is no one who does not' works. — এক বাক্যে দুটি না মিলে হ্যাঁ হয় — 'there is no one who does not' এভাবেই কাজ করে।
Quizকুইজ
Tap an answer to check yourself — a free preview of the full graded quiz in the app.
1. Make negative: 'Only Karim was present.'
2. Make negative: 'He is the tallest boy in the class.'
3. Make negative: 'We must obey the law.'
4. Make negative: 'He always tells the truth.'
Practiceঅনুশীলন
Try each one, then reveal the answer.
1. Make negative: 'As soon as the teacher entered, the students stood up.'
Hint: 'No sooner had' + past participle + 'than'.
2. Make negative: 'He is both wise and brave.'
Hint: 'Both … and' becomes 'not only … but also'.
3. Make negative: 'Everybody wishes to be happy.'
Hint: Two negatives are needed to keep the positive meaning.
4. Make negative: 'I have only one pen.'
Hint: 'Only' before a thing becomes 'nothing but'.
5. Make negative: 'Rina is as clever as Mina.'
Hint: 'As … as' becomes 'not less … than'.
Related Lessonsসম্পর্কিত পাঠ
- Transformation of Sentences: All RulesTransformation of sentences for SSC and HSC: simple, complex and compound, affirmative to negative, assertive to interrogative, with Bangla notes and a quiz.
- Assertive, Interrogative and Exclamatory: Changing Between ThemChange assertive to interrogative and exclamatory sentences with the same meaning: every board rule, worked examples, common mistakes and Bangla explanation.
- Simple, Complex and Compound Sentences: How to ConvertConvert simple to complex and compound sentences with the same meaning: the connector for every case, worked examples, mistakes and Bangla explanation.
AI Practiceএআই অনুশীলন
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Practise with the AI teacher →Frequently Asked Questionsসাধারণ জিজ্ঞাসা
Is affirmative to negative part of the SSC syllabus?
Yes. The English second paper lists one item called 'Changing sentences' worth ten marks, and it names affirmative, negative, assertive, interrogative, exclamatory, simple, complex and compound. This page covers the affirmative-to-negative half of it.
Can I just add 'not' to make a sentence negative?
Only when the sentence has no key word to swap, and even then the meaning must survive. 'He is honest' becomes 'He is not dishonest', not 'He is not honest'.
Is 'cannot but' or 'cannot help' the better answer for 'must'?
Both are accepted. Just match the verb form: 'cannot but go' uses the base verb, 'cannot help going' uses the -ing form.
What is the commonest mistake in this item?
Reversing the meaning instead of keeping it. Students write the opposite of the original sentence and lose the whole mark even though the grammar is perfect.