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Cristian090
There was nobody there? or There wasn't anybody there?
Hello. If you can help me to understand this, I'll be grateful. What's the difference between this two phrases?, When I should use it? what's more common?
Thanks.
Sep 17, 2018 3:14 PM
Answers · 6
1
I agree with the previous two answers. Both are correct.
Just be careful not to mix the two, as in "there wasn't nobody there" as this would be a double negative, and wouldn't be grammatically correct.
September 17, 2018
1
"There was nobody there"..."There" (specific location) was "nobody" (literally no-body) "there" (in that same specific location)
"There wasn't anybody there"..."There (specific location) "wasn't" (indicating the noun/subject is going to be negative/no) "anybody" (which is an existing noun, but that "wasn't" changed it into a non-existing noun) "there" (in that same specific location)
I believe that there are both interchangeable...they both lead to the same end message. Both sentences are just worded differently.
September 17, 2018
1
Hi,
We'd usually use the first of these, which sounds more natural than the second. That would also be more common. But the second one is OK.
Best wishes
Steve
September 17, 2018
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Cristian090
Language Skills
English, Japanese, Spanish
Learning Language
English, Japanese
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