Question

Transform the following sentence from affirmative to negative without changing the meaning:
He was doubtful that he would win the game.
A. He was unsure that he would win the game.
B. He was not sure that he would win the game.
C. He was not sure that he would lose the game.
D. He was unsure that he would lose the game.

Answer 1

Hint: An affirmative sentence is a sentence that has no negative words. A negative sentence is a sentence that contains negative words like no, not, and never.

Complete answer:
From the hint given to us, we know that an affirmative sentence is a sentence that has no negative words. We also know that a negative sentence is a sentence that contains negative words like no, not, and never. Thus, in order to change an affirmative sentence into a negative sentence, a negative word should be added. Doubtful means to be uncertain about something. The opposite of doubtful is, sure. Sure means to be certain about something. Hence, we can substitute doubtful with 'not sure' in order to convert the affirmative sentence into a negative sentence.
In the first option, we observe that doubtful has been substituted with its synonym, unsure. However, it does not contain any negative words and thus, the sentence still remains an affirmative sentence. Hence, option A is not the correct answer.
In the second option, we observe that doubtful has correctly been substituted with 'not sure', which is synonymous to doubtful. It converts the sentence from an affirmative sentence to a negative sentence. Hence, option B is possibly the correct answer.
In the third option, we observe that the sentence has been converted to a negative sentence by substituting doubtful with 'not sure'. However, the verb win has also been replaced with lose, which changes the meaning of the sentence. Hence, option C is not the correct answer.
In the fourth option, we observe that the sentence is still an affirmative sentence. However, the meaning of the sentence has been altered due to the replacement of the verb, 'win’ with 'lose'. Hence, option D is not the correct answer.
Thus, we can conclude that option B is the correct answer.
Note: It is to be noted that while converting a sentence from affirmative to negative, the original meaning of the sentence for not get altered and remains unchanged.