negation - Can I use "anymore" with "nothing"?


Normally, anymore (or any more in UK) meaning any longer used as an adverb not a as determiner, can be found in negative, conditional, or interrogative sentences. Americans may use anymore in positive sentences, but I'd like to skip this subject if possible :)


My question : is the use of nothing makes the sentence negative despite it's grammatically a positive sentence and so allows the use of anymore ?


Can I say and write :



Shara has always hated this town but she stayed there for her mother. Her mother has just died. From now on, nothing prevents her from moving on anymore



And what about nothing else ... anymore or almost nothing ... anymore ? They still both express the negation but not the COMPLETENESS. Is it a trouble?



John has a very weak will. And Sofia thinks if he tries cocaine just one time, then for him, nothing else will matter anymore



Another less important question : I find From now on and anymore a bit redundant. Is it the case or it's OK?


Thank you for all your remarks.



Answer



Anymore (Any more) is a Negative Polarity Item (NPI), and nothing is a negative trigger word.


NPIs require a negative trigger word in their context, usually in a special syntactic construction.
It doesn't matter whether the clause is "positive", taken together, or not. It's the trigger that matters.


An NPI that occurs outside the scope of a negative trigger, however, is quite ungrammatical.
(though American English does have a "positive anymore" dialect, where anymore = nowadays).



  • I doubt he goes there anymore, but not *I believe he goes there anymore.

  • Few people go there anymore, but not *A few people go there anymore.

  • Only Bill goes there anymore, but not *Even Bill goes there anymore.


(except, again, in positive anymore dialects, where people can say things like



  • That's where I take my dry cleaning anymore.
    -- meaning "That's where I take it now; I used to take it elsewhere")


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