Are there two correct versions of these sentences?

Usually: 'there isn't anything' and 'there is nothing' both work. Standard English only objects to blending them (there isn't nothing), and seeing both single forms makes the blend easy to spot.

Why do kids find this hard?

Because doubling feels emphatic, and because music and speech around them double freely. The counting habit, one negative, then any-, gives them a rule that holds under pressure.

5th grade negatives and double negatives

5th grade negatives and double negatives worksheets

Fifth graders handle all the pairs (no/any, nothing/anything, nobody/anybody, nowhere/anywhere, never/ever) and repair double negatives on sight.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.5.1.

Each print is a different sheet with its own answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of sentences you'll fix

Choose the word that keeps the sentence to one negative, and write it on the line.

We can’t go (anywhere / nowhere) until the fort is picked up.
Fixed: We can’t go anywhere until the fort is picked up.
She doesn’t want (anything / nothing) for her birthday except the window seat.
There weren’t (any / no) clouds worth naming all day.

Every print pulls a new set of sentences at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.

What's on a 5th grade sheet

5th grade sheets draw from 44 sentences, 8 to a page. 5th and 6th grade print from the same 44 sentences. The teaching notes below are written for this grade. All 40 of 4th grade's sentences are here too, plus 4 more.

A few of the sentences, as the answer key corrects them:

He didn’t drop any passes in the scrimmage.
There wasn’t any cake left by the time we arrived.
The rain didn’t stop anybody from finishing the fun run.

Fix it. Choose the word that keeps the sentence to one negative, and write it on the line. 8 sentences to fix per page.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Flip sentences both ways aloud: 'There isn't anything' equals 'There is nothing.' Both are correct singles; mixing them makes the double. Hearing the two standard versions side by side makes the blend easy to catch.

Watch for: 'We don't have no time' does not mean we have time. Speakers of many English dialects say it to mean 'we have no time,' and everyone listening understands. Standard written English, the kind these sheets practice, spends one negative per idea: we don't have any time. The any- family is the negative's partner: not...anything, never...anyone, without...any. Choosing any- after a negative is the whole move.

Common questions about 5th grade negatives and double negatives

Are there two correct versions of these sentences?: Usually: 'there isn't anything' and 'there is nothing' both work. Standard English only objects to blending them (there isn't nothing), and seeing both single forms makes the blend easy to spot.
Why do kids find this hard?: Because doubling feels emphatic, and because music and speech around them double freely. The counting habit, one negative, then any-, gives them a rule that holds under pressure.

Related worksheets

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Aligned to Common Core L.5.1. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

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