grammar

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

I have two questions:

No.1

A hibernating animal needs hardly any food all through the winter, ________ ?
a. need it b. needn't it
c. does it d. doesn't it

The key is 'c'. According to my grammar book:
If need appears in negative form we can only use 'need' or 'must'. There is the word 'hardly' in this sentence which indicates negative meaning. Should I choose 'a'?

No.2

She would have been more agreeable if she had changed a little bit, ________ ?

a. hadn't she b. hasn't she c. wouldn't she
d. didn't she

The key is 'c'. This is something different with the grammatical rule. Could you please explain why this is the answer?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[Casiopea]

No. 1
A hibernating animal needs hardly any food all through the winter, does it?
=> It hardly (negative), does (positive) it?

No.2
She would have been more agreeable if she had changed a little bit, wouldn't she (have)?

=> would have (positive), wouldn't have (negative)

[jiang]

Dear Cas,

Thank you very much for the explanation. Now I see.

Jiang

Originally Posted by Casiopea

No. 1
A hibernating animal needs hardly any food all through the winter, does it?
=> It hardly (negative), does (positive) it?

No.2
She would have been more agreeable if she had changed a little bit, wouldn't she (have)?

=> would have (positive), wouldn't have (negative)

[Casiopea]

You're most welcome, Jiang.