Negation is the process that turns an affirmative statement (e.g. "I am American") into its opposite denial (e.g. "I am not American").
0
votes
1answer
43 views
Negative question; what's the affirmative answer here? [duplicate]
My wife and I communicate in English. She's Japanese, I'm Norwegian and we're both language enthusiasts; this makes for a lot of interesting language discussions.
This is something that surfaced ...
2
votes
1answer
171 views
Litotes: Always for Emphasis? Used for Non-committal Hedging? Any Authoritative Source?
My question is about litotes. I’m wondering if it is always for emphasis, or whether it can be a type of non-committal statement or hedging. And, is there an authoritative source that can be cited ...
0
votes
2answers
47 views
“No restriction” vs. “no restrictions”
The data center must be flexible. There should be no restriction/restrictions on user's choice of protocols.
What should it be?
25
votes
4answers
6k views
How to answer a negative question without ambiguity?
I faced a problem to answer a negative question, for example When someone ask you:
Don't you have any money?
It's a yes/no question but how should one answer the question without ambiguity?
...
-2
votes
1answer
63 views
Usage of 'not different'
Take a look at this sentence.
Many apps are not good. Even some of Apple's
own apps are not different.
I intend to mean some of Apple's own apps are not good. Is this correct?
2
votes
2answers
174 views
Not only X but also Y are (is?)
At first glance, sentence 1 below seems more correct because there are two subjects. However, something seems more natural about sentence 2. Maybe there is something abbreviated, elliptical, or ...
-2
votes
1answer
68 views
Is the answer to this question “neither” or “either”?
She doesn't think so or you don't think so?
Is it grammatically correct to respond with
Either.
or
Neither.
to this question?
Or does this depend on the meaning intended to be ...
9
votes
6answers
2k views
Should “anymore” only be used in a negative statement or question?
I don't know why this is so, but I've always believed that the word anymore should only be used in a question or negative statement.
Do you go there anymore?
Don't do that anymore.
But I often ...
1
vote
2answers
120 views
“My job is not to worry about those people” — what does “not” refer to?
In the famous leaked video, Mitt Romney says
My job is not to worry about those people
An equivalent sentence probably is
It is not my job to worry about those people
Some media in my home ...
1
vote
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 ...
1
vote
3answers
109 views
Why does no dictionary carry the word 'non-affair', though all carry 'nonevent'?
I came across the word “non-affair” in Jeffery Archer’s novel Kane and Abel, which I just finished reading yesterday. The word appears in the following sentence (p. 544):
“She couldn’t recall ...
1
vote
4answers
1k views
Is “incomplex” a legitimate word?
I want to create a poster titled "An Incomplex Introduction to Complexity-based Cryptography." As you see, it contrasts the words incomplex and complexity. (Words like simple or easy do not provide ...
2
votes
3answers
1k views
Is “uncomplete” a word? [closed]
Or would I just use incomplete? Would there be any instance that one would uncomplete?
3
votes
0answers
174 views
Un-(adjective) but In-(noun) — does it ever go the other way?
Many pairs of words use un- as a prefix for the preferred adjective but in- as a prefix for the preferred noun (e.g. unstable/instability, unequal/inequality, unable/inability, unjust/injustice, ...
13
votes
10answers
10k views
What is a good replacement for “ununderstandable”?
I want to tell a colleague of mine I'm doing something that will prevent her from getting "ununderstandable" errors. I have:
...so that you will not get unnecessary, [ununderstandable] errors.
...
0
votes
1answer
142 views
Please provide me correct interpretation of this sentence [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How does negation affect the use and understanding of “or” and “and”
A's girlfriend doesn't like movies or Roses.
What would be the correct ...
1
vote
0answers
102 views
Why does a negative adverbial phrase trigger inversion? [duplicate]
When a negative adverb (or adverbial phrase) is placed at the beginning of a sentence, we exchange the normal placement of subject and verb.
Why is that?
4
votes
4answers
501 views
What's the distinction between “nonessential” and “inessential”?
I'm revising a text that uses the word "nonessential", but my ear is telling me "inessential." Usually when there are two very similar words like this, there is some subtle (or not so subtle) ...
1
vote
3answers
567 views
Difference between “unlikeable” and “dislikeable”?
Is there a difference between unlikeable and dislikeable? It feels like there is, but I'm uncertain how to explain it.
1
vote
1answer
151 views
Why is “not as … as” preferred to “not cheaper than”?
In the rephrasing exercise
A is more expensive than B. > A is not _________ B.
The only correct answer is supposed to be "A is not as cheap as B".
However, a student suggested "A is not cheaper ...
5
votes
2answers
123 views
Why do positive and negative variants of the same question elicit the same answer? [duplicate]
In common American English usage, these two questions elicit the same response:
Do you have a ticket?
Don't you have a ticket?
These are the usual answers (I was going to say "possible answers" ...
2
votes
1answer
130 views
Interpreting “not bad”
In conversations people often use "not bad". How to interpret this?
Are they feeling good or just not bad or somewhere in the middle?
Does it depend on the context?
E.g.:
X: How are you doing ...
-3
votes
3answers
174 views
“Why you no…?” or “What that no…?” — are those grammatically correct? [closed]
Why you no come?
Why you no talk English?
Why you no have a girlfriend?
What kind of English are these sentences? Are these types of sentences grammatically correct?
0
votes
1answer
143 views
Meaning of “either”: “not /A or B/” = “not /either A or B/”?
In a positive sentence, "either . . .or" is sometimes used to express an exclusive disjunction.
However, what happens when “either” is used in negation, as in sentence two below? Is the meaning the ...
2
votes
1answer
167 views
“Hitler will send no warning” vs “Hitler won't send warnings”
As in this WWII poster:
Are they the same thing, or are there differences in expression？
Why do native speakers choose the first one?
2
votes
2answers
180 views
Verb + not = do not verb ? What is the gramatical explanation?
I have long been puzzled by the usage of 'verb + not'. For example, Kennedy said, "... my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." The Bible ...
3
votes
3answers
145 views
What does the word “no” mean before a noun-adjective word? [closed]
I see some examples :
- No cheese
- No errors
- No good
I understand how to use "any", but "no" before a noun is weird (especially "no" before an adjective). Can anyone explain them?
-1
votes
2answers
125 views
He Did Come Home? [closed]
Is this:
1 He did come home late yesterday.
a sloppy variation of:
2 He came home late yesterday.
because of poor editing under adverse writing conditions? Could the writer have ...
1
vote
3answers
2k views
“No kidding” and “not kidding”
What is the difference between not kidding and no kidding?
Is no kidding valid English?
1
vote
1answer
406 views
“Not… neither… nor…” word order
George Galloway is an outspoken MP with excellent rhetorical skills. I will take a part of his speech to convey the idea of my question.
Video
Iraq is neither strong, independent nor even a ...
2
votes
4answers
4k views
“Uncapable” or “incapable”?
In Microsoft Word, uncapable is marked as wrong. It sounded pretty alright to me, thus, I checked it up on the Web and found that many dictionaries do not have "uncapable" in their entries, but ...
4
votes
8answers
687 views
Express an ability not to do something
How would I express my ability not to do something?
"I cannot dig" means that I definitely cannot dig. But how do I express my ability not to dig? The first thing that comes to my mind is "I am able ...
0
votes
3answers
119 views
Is “tell neither X nor Y” equivalent to “not tell both X and Y” or “not tell either X and Y”? [closed]
Given the sentence "John told neither the boss nor the secretary.", which of the following has the same meaning?
John did not tell both the boss and the secretary.
John did not tell either ...
1
vote
1answer
147 views
Is “make no mistake” a mistake?
Is "make no mistake" proper grammar?
Isn't "no" being used as a quantifier? Aren't quantified nouns supposed to be plural when the quantity is none? For example, I was taught to say, "one egg" and ...
0
votes
2answers
169 views
Grammaticality of “I have a car, neither does Sara” [closed]
Can we say "I have a red car. Neither does Sara." or must we say "I have a red car but Sara doesn't."?
I have read this on a website and they said that the first sentence is incorrect but I don't ...
1
vote
1answer
142 views
“Who cares [if/that] it [is/isn't] true” — which to use when?
Imagine the following scenario:
Person A: I love this movie so much! The story is so beautiful!
Person B: Well, the story isn't true.
Now, person A has a few options in how to follow the ...
2
votes
2answers
2k views
“Repairable” vs. “reparable” vs. “irreparable” vs. “unrepairable”
I've been looking online at these three words, but I'm not able to determine their relationship and the rules surrounding their usage.
I believe this is true:
Repairable: Just what you'd think, ...
3
votes
4answers
443 views
What exactly does “All Items Not On Sale” mean?
Here's a quote from Bill Bryson's "The Mother Tongue":
Imagine being a foreigner and having to learn ... , that a sign in the
store saying ALL ITEMS NOT ON SALE doesn't mean literally what it ...
2
votes
6answers
5k views
“won't” vs. “wouldn't”
Are these two words interchangeable? How do you know when to use one or the other?
For some sentences it is easy to know which one to use, but not for others. The type of sentences that are difficult ...
0
votes
2answers
558 views
Do “asymmetric” and “dissymmetric” have different meaning?
I get that usually a- (or un-) and di- prefixes mean different things, e.g. uninterested and disinterested. However, both asymmetric and dissymmetric refer to the lack of symmetry (which the NOAD ...
14
votes
4answers
793 views
How productive is the prefix “un-”?
Is it possible to use un- with new words such as sit, sleep, sad? I'm currently seeing many words (in programming) which use "un-" in the meaning of undoing something.
For example, is it possible to ...
6
votes
3answers
4k views
What is the opposite of “enroll”?
Deenroll? Unenroll? I understand words like cancel and resign would work, but is there an appropriate antonym with "enroll" in it?
0
votes
0answers
32 views
Is the expression “It don't” grammatically correct? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
The grammaticality of “that don’t impress me much”
It doesn't.
Usually, we say it this way, right? But I have seen some song lyrics using "it don't".
(Examples ...
0
votes
4answers
314 views
Which of these sentences use proper grammar?
Unfortunately, there currently is not a way to make it default to a lower resolution.
Unfortunately, there is currently not a way to make it default to a lower resolution.
Unfortunately, ...
-4
votes
2answers
227 views
“His hopes had not materialized”/“have not materialized”/“have not been materialized”
Which one is preferable in following sentence?
His hopes of getting through the I.A.S. had not materialized till today's date.
His hopes of getting through the I.A.S. have not materialized ...
-5
votes
2answers
320 views
Why is “insatiable” pronounced as if it was “unsatiable”? [closed]
Why is insatiable pronounced as if it was unsatiable?
0
votes
1answer
162 views
Difference between “antisymmetric” and “nonsymmetric” [closed]
What is the difference between antisymmetric and nonsymmetric?
I only know the meaning of asymmetric.
3
votes
1answer
207 views
Why say “nay” when you could say “no”
I am curious as to why "nay" replaces the simple unequivocal "no" in the context of voting.
My research in Merriam-Webster tells me that "nay" means "no" (not the other way around) and the first ...
-1
votes
2answers
196 views
“Least expected” or “least unexpected”
When I was talking to my girlfriend, she mentioned an incident where one of her friends surprised her with a gift. She said something like that least unexpected ... after which we got into a debate ...
3
votes
2answers
138 views
“Does he go bowling?” or “Doesn't he go bowling?”
Let's say we know a boy called Jonny and he goes bowling twice a week. My daughter has asked me which of the following questions are correct.
Does Jonny go bowling?
Doesn't Jonny go ...
