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Questions about the grammaticality of these sentences



 
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Differences among principle, idea, belief, law and rule | How do we use the conditionals in English?
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Questions about the grammaticality of these sentences #1 (permalink) Tue Dec 06, 2005 1:03 am   Questions about the grammaticality of these sentences
 

Hello, I just wonder if the following four sentences are grammatically correct or not. Please pay attention to the negative polarity item "ever".

1) The farmer has ever planted trees.
2) The farmer who has ever planted trees smokes.

3) The farmers have ever planted trees.
4) The farmers who have ever planted trees smoke.

Thanks in advance.
NPIs
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Questions about the grammaticality of these sentences #2 (permalink) Tue Dec 06, 2005 7:21 am   Questions about the grammaticality of these sentences
 

None are correct. Ever conveys no negativity. In standard prose usage, ever is used in negative, interrogative or hypothetical utterances:

The farmer has not ever planted trees.
Has the farmer ever planted trees?
If the farmer has ever planted trees, he knows they take a long time to grow
.
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Questions about the grammaticality of these sentences #3 (permalink) Thu Dec 08, 2005 21:40 pm   Questions about the grammaticality of these sentences
 

Thank you very much.

Have a nice day.
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