OH  OH  OH  -continued  OH  OH  OH  OH  In formula (AL-3),  RL 5 ,  RL 6  and  Rn  are each indepen› dently a monovalent hydrocarbon group which may contain  a heteroatom such as oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen or fluorine.  The monovalent hydrocarbon groups may be straight,  branched or cyclic, and are preferably alkyl groups of 1 to  20 carbon atoms. Any two of  RL 5 ,  RL 6  and RL 7  may bond  together to form a ring, especially alicyclic, with the carbon  atom to which they are attached, the ring containing 3 to 20  carbon atoms, preferably 4 to 16 carbon atoms.  As the recurring units (b ), recurring units which switch  from hydrophilic to hydrophobic due to dehydration reaction  with the aid of acid, referred to as recurring units (b3), may  also be used. When recurring units (b3) are used, the resist  composition of the invention may be used as a negative  resist composition adapted to form a negative pattern via  alkaline development.  Examples of the monomer from which recurring units  (b3) are derived are given below, but not limited thereto.  Herein  RA  is as defined above.  In formulae (AL-1) and (AL-2), RL 1  and  RL 2  are each  independently a monovalent hydrocarbon group which may  contain a heteroatom such as oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen or  fluorine. The monovalent hydrocarbon groups may be  straight, branched or cyclic, and are preferably alkyl groups 5  of 1 to 40 carbon atoms, more preferably 1 to 20 carbon  atoms. In formula (AL-1), "a" is an integer of 0 to 10,  especially 1 to 5.  In formula (AL-2),  RL 3  and  RL 4  are each independently  hydrogen or a monovalent hydrocarbon group which may  contain a heteroatom such as oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen or  fluorine. The monovalent hydrocarbon groups may be  straight, branched or cyclic, and are preferably alkyl groups  of 1 to 20 carbon atoms. Any two ofRL2,  RL 3  and  RL 4  may  bond together to form a ring, especially alicyclic, with the  carbon atom or carbon and oxygen atoms to which they are  attached, the ring containing 3 to 20 carbon atoms, prefer› ably 4 to 16 carbon atoms.  US 10,915,021 B2  27  28 