Grade 7 English TOURIST ATTRACTION SITES:KENYA – GRAMMAR IN USE:AFFIRMATIVE AND NEGATIVE SENTENCES Notes
GRAMMAR IN USE: AFFIRMATIVE AND NEGATIVE SENTENCES
Subject: English — Topic: TOURIST ATTRACTION SITES: KENYA (for 12‑year‑olds). We look only at grammar. Learn how to make affirmative (positive) and negative sentences using places in Kenya.
It says that something is true. Example: “Tourists visit the Maasai Mara.” ✅
What is a negative sentence?It says that something is not true. We usually add not or use negative helpers like do not / don't, does not / doesn't, is not / isn't, are not / aren't, did not / didn't.
1) Present simple (facts, habits)
Structure (affirmative): Subject + base verb (+ object)
Structure (negative): Subject + do/does + not + base verb
Affirmative: Tourists visit Diani Beach. 🏖️
Negative: Tourists do not (don't) visit Diani Beach in the rainy season. 🌧️
Affirmative: The Maasai Mara has many wild animals. 🐘🦒
Negative: The Maasai Mara does not (doesn't) have a zoo.
Note: Use doesn't with he/she/it (The park doesn't open early). Use don't with I/you/we/they (We don't go there alone).
2) The verb "to be" and present continuous
"To be" (am/is/are) makes negatives with not. Present continuous uses am/are/is + verb‑ing.
Be (affirmative): The guide is friendly. 😊
Be (negative): The guide is not (isn't) friendly.
Present continuous (affirmative): We are visiting Nairobi National Park today. 🚗🌿
Present continuous (negative): We are not (aren't) visiting Nairobi National Park today.
Tip: Contractions are common: "isn't", "aren't", "I'm not" (note: "amn't" is not used in English; say "I'm not").
3) Past simple
Use past simple to talk about finished actions. Make negative with did not / didn't + base verb.
Affirmative: We visited Lake Nakuru last summer. 🦩
Negative: We did not (didn't) visit Lake Nakuru last summer.
- Use don't / doesn't for present simple negatives.
- Use isn't / aren't / am not when the main verb is "be".
- Use didn't for past simple negatives.
- Make contractions to sound natural in speech: don't, doesn't, isn't, aren't, didn't.
Examples from Kenyan places
- Kenya has beautiful parks. 🌳
- People visit Mount Kenya every year. ⛰️
- Lamu Island offers calm beaches. 🏝️
- Kenya does not have very cold weather near the coast. 🌞
- Many people do not (don't) travel to some parks in the rainy season. 🌧️
- Lamu does not (doesn't) have tall buildings like Nairobi. 🏘️
Practice — change the sentence to a negative
- Affirmative: "Tourists visit Amboseli in the dry season."
- Affirmative: "The guide is friendly."
- Affirmative: "We saw flamingos at Lake Nakuru last week."
- Affirmative: "Children enjoy the beaches at Diani."
- Affirmative: "The park has many giraffes."
Short quiz (choose the correct negative)
1. "They (visit) Tsavo every year." → Negative?
2. "She (be) the park ranger." → Negative?
3. "We (visit) Lamu last year." → Negative?
Practice making negatives and use contractions when you speak. Try writing five sentences about Kenyan attractions and turn each into a negative sentence.