Deny

[Alimdul]

Hello.
The task was to transform the initial sentence, using the word 'deny'.

The task:
He said that he had done nothing improper.
DENY
He went ___________ improper.

The correct answer:
He went on to deny doing anything improper.

My incorrect answer:
He went on to deny doing something improper.

I did some research on combining 'deny' with 'something' and characteristics of 'deny' in general, however, the information is inconclusive. Can you give me a hint please?

 

[GoesStation]

I'd have said He denied having done anything improper, but there are many ways you could phrase this. Did the instructions direct you to use the phrasal verb "go on to"? If not, I don't see why it's part of the answer.

In any case, I think anything is a better replacement for "nothing" there, but they're both possible.

 

[emsr2d2]

Given that the answer had to start with "He went", there aren't many (feasible) alternatives to "He went on to".

I can come up with several unlikely responses, such as "He went to his grave denying he had done anything improper" or "He went mad because no one would believe he had done nothing improper". However, I can only assume that the task insisted that "to go on to do" be used.

 

[GoesStation]

Given that the answer had to start with "He went", there aren't many (feasible) alternatives to "He went on to".

Wow, I've been missing a lot this morning.

 

[Alimdul]

Yes, the instructions insist on 'to go on to do'. My concern was a 'something/anything/nothing' issue. It's an example from CPE (Cambridge Proficiency Exam) Use of English Part 4 (key word transformation).

 

[Alimdul]

These are the original pages from a self-check book (#27 is what I asked about). My friend and I do a test (we have been preparing together for several months), then check the answer key. However, we sometimes need extra help to fathom why this answer is correct in order to avoid mistakes in the future. I must admit that we typically get the lowest score with this part of the test.

 

[jutfrank]

Without unnecessarily going into a comprehensive explanation, I'll just tell you that the normal difference in use/meaning between some(thing) and any(thing) applies here. There's nothing special about the verb deny.

 

[Alimdul]

Thank you. That's what I needed to hear.