The double-negation tag has no wiki summary.
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Origin and correctness of “ain’t no”?
In contemporary American English usage, I come across sentences like:
I ain’t got no money.
Ain’t no man like him.
Saying ain’t no sounds incorrect to me because it is a double ...
1
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1answer
44 views
“Why not” and double negatives
This popped up during a conversation. My friend said (roughly):
Some vegetarians don't eat meat. Why not fish?
To me, this felt somewhat weird. Her intent was to ask, if some vegetarians refuse ...
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3answers
131 views
Can a double negative be used to express caution or uncertainty?
In the following statement, what is the effect of the double negative? Is it necessarily emphasis? Or could it be a kind of cautious statement implying a degree of uncertainty? If a double negative ...
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3answers
116 views
Is it gramatically a good start to say “It is definitely not unheard that people say”?
I was reading an answer to a question in this site which started with this phrase:
It is definitely not unheard that people say ...
I feel it is incorrect or at least not a very nice phrase. ...
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1answer
160 views
Double negation in English Grammar [closed]
I'm unsure if the following sentence contains a double negative, or whether it’s even considered grammatical?
He doesn’t like anyone who isn’t British.
Do the emphasized words doesn’t and isn’t ...
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1answer
254 views
Why does “I ain't doing nothing” translate to “I am doing nothing”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“I ain’t got no money”
Why does the phrase "I ain't doing nothing" mean "I am doing nothing"?
According to me, "I ain't doing nothing" should translate to "I am not ...
5
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1answer
159 views
Double negation “does not any”
I understand that any has negative connotations, as can be seen in the above link, but I need to say that there are no pages in a book. I've come up with the following sentence:
That book does not ...
2
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2answers
202 views
Does double negation turn “neither” into “either”?
Peter Guess posted tongue twister with a construct where something occurs that creates what looks like a paradox to me.
neither either...or...or nor neither...nor...nor are either particularly ...
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3answers
640 views
“John Doe is an uninteresting name. Usain Bolt [is]/[isn't]”
Given the two separate facts:
John Doe is an uninteresting name.
Usain Bolt is an interesting name.
which of the following statements is correct:
A - "John Doe is an uninteresting name. Usain ...
1
vote
2answers
462 views
Should we use “not to” or “to not”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Order of “not” with infinitive
It's OK to make mistakes; it's not OK not to learn from them.
What kind of grammar structure is this? Could I use "to ...
-1
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2answers
211 views
Double negations [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is there a rule about double negations that aren't meant as double negations (e.g. “We don't need no education”)?
Meaning of “you don't need no memory” and ...
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4answers
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“I ain't got no money”
I know the ultimate meaning of this is "I have no money."
But why? If ain't means have not, then isn't it true that "I ain't got no money" would be read as "I have not got no money"?
Can I have not ...
4
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4answers
436 views
Is there any difference if Peeves said “Not doing anything” instead of “Not doing nothing?
Peeves the Poltergeist is a practical joker in Harry Potter books. Why is he saying ‘nothing’ for ‘anything’ in the following citation? Does this express his character? Is it possibly a dialect or ...
2
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1answer
178 views
Double 'not' in questions - how is it correct?
Suppose the following sentence:
"Aren't the headers not covered by copyright?"
Is this sentence correct?
9
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7answers
606 views
Meaning of sentence with double negation
I'm a learner of English, and I got this sentence from a dating book which I find difficult to understand:
We know a man who was horribly disfigured by fire who has a constant
stream of women in ...
3
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2answers
1k views
What exactly is meant by “This is not to say it's not a bad system”?
Someone on a forum wrote
This is not to say it's not a bad system.
With some context,
This is not a component system. This is not to say it's not a bad system, but in this case you should be ...
1
vote
1answer
259 views
How to understand “You don't get no coffee”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Are double negatives ever appropriate in English?
"You don't get no coffee"
I feel like the above sentence is a bit confusing to understand. What's the exact ...
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5answers
1k views
What constitutes a double negative?
Is "not unpleasant" a double negative, and hence bad grammar? See the first answer (by Ham and Bacon) to this question, for the basis of this question.
Are all "not un..." forms incorrect? They are ...
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5answers
2k views
Are double negatives ever appropriate in English?
I have heard several sentences in which there was a prominent double negative, but the double negative "sounded right". Is this ever true, or is it just a misleading feeling?
Edited to include an ...
0
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2answers
324 views
I can't get no satisfaction? really? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“I Can't Get No Satisfaction” — what's the correct meaning?
I know this is a popular song and they might have twisted it a bit. but is it the ...
0
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2answers
2k views
“Like” versus “not unlike”
Just out of curiousity, how did this double negative come to be?
When I use it, it's often because I want to emphasise the fact that x is not y but is still similar in some way, whereas "like" ...
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4answers
2k views
Are “not uncommon” and similar phrases double negatives? Should their use be avoided?
When I think of double negatives I think of phrases that grate on the ears, like:
I'm not going to do no homework.
I'm never going to not go visit Graceland.
There are some phrases that ...
5
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3answers
156 views
Parenthetical double negation?
Is this a double negation? Is it still grammatically correct? If not, what is a better form?
He cannot go outside (legally, not physically), because he is under house arrest.
The meaning is that ...
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8answers
2k views
Is there a rule about double negations that aren't meant as double negations (e.g. “We don't need no education”)?
How can you explain that this double negation is not a double negation? Is there a rule in English about this kind of sentence?
PS / Do I have to mention Pink Floyd Copyright ? :-)
Edit : Since ...
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3answers
403 views
Double negation
How should I interpret the following lyric from America: we ain't had no time to drink that beer?
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1answer
3k views
“Not bad either” versus “not bad neither”
There are more Google matches for the first sentence, but the last one sounds better to me. Which one is correct?
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4answers
2k views
What does “I Can't Get No Satisfaction” mean?
This song by The Rolling Stones, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction".
As a non-native speaker, I always wondered what's the exact meaning of this phrase?
Is it "I'm not getting any satisfaction" (this ...
