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Fujibei Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Answering negative questions
I was taught at school that a negative question should be answered with "yes" if followed by a positive sentence, and "no" if followed by a negative one as in the following:
Don't you love me?
Yes, I do (I love you). Or, No, I don't (I don't love you).
However, I've come across lots of cases where this rule does not seem to apply in movies; some of the examples are as follows:
1)
Jimmy: "I think maybe you don't love me anymore."
Louise: "No. I do love you...but I think it's time to just...let go of the old mistakes...just chalk it up to...bad timing."
2)
A: Allison, if this isn’t something you’re interested in doing…
B: No, no, I’m interested.
3)
K: You don’t want to know.
P: No, I do.
How and in what situation is it possible to say, "No, I love you." to the qestion "Don't you love me?"
Could anyone out there help me clear up confusion in my mind.
Don't you love me?
Yes, I do (I love you). Or, No, I don't (I don't love you).
However, I've come across lots of cases where this rule does not seem to apply in movies; some of the examples are as follows:
1)
Jimmy: "I think maybe you don't love me anymore."
Louise: "No. I do love you...but I think it's time to just...let go of the old mistakes...just chalk it up to...bad timing."
2)
A: Allison, if this isn’t something you’re interested in doing…
B: No, no, I’m interested.
3)
K: You don’t want to know.
P: No, I do.
How and in what situation is it possible to say, "No, I love you." to the qestion "Don't you love me?"
Could anyone out there help me clear up confusion in my mind.
Top answer
Use 'no' to exclaim your rebuttal of the previous negative statement as a whole.
- Use 'no' to exclaim your rebuttal of the previous negative statement as a whole.
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3 Answers
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Use 'no' to exclaim your rebuttal of the previous negative statement as a whole.
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Could you please elaborate based on the examples given in my post?
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1)
Jimmy: "I think maybe you don't love me anymore."
Louise: "No [, that's not true!]. I do love you...but I think it's time to just...let go of the old mistakes...just chalk it up to...bad timing."
2)
A: Allison, if this isn't something you're interested in doing...
B: No, no, [that's not true!] I'm interested.
3)
K: You don't want to
Jimmy: "I think maybe you don't love me anymore."
Louise: "No [, that's not true!]. I do love you...but I think it's time to just...let go of the old mistakes...just chalk it up to...bad timing."
2)
A: Allison, if this isn't something you're interested in doing...
B: No, no, [that's not true!] I'm interested.
3)
K: You don't want to
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