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Usenet Posted 19 years ago
Usage
"can't help but not"
Hi,
I have a question about "can't help but not" phrases. I was talking about someone the other day, and I caught myself saying, "she's so nice that you can't help but not like her." I started wondering about the construction of how I said that as I didn't sound right.
Isn't this improper usage? Seems improper because of the double negative. Wouldn't the proper way to say this would be to simply state, "she's so nice that you can't help but like her"?
searched on google, and looked up this phrase, "cant help but not like" and noticed that quite a A LOT of people seem to use the "can't help but not like" phrase in the same context I did earlier today. I also noticed that some people tend to use the phrase in a negative way, such as, "It was such a lousy movie that you can't help but NOT like it."
Isn't this also incorrect usage as well? If you don't like something, but want to use the "can't help but" phrase in this instance, wouldn't you say something like,
"It was such a lousy movie that you can't help but hate it?"
"she's such a lousy person that you can't help but dislike her?"
I have a question about "can't help but not" phrases. I was talking about someone the other day, and I caught myself saying, "she's so nice that you can't help but not like her." I started wondering about the construction of how I said that as I didn't sound right.
Isn't this improper usage? Seems improper because of the double negative. Wouldn't the proper way to say this would be to simply state, "she's so nice that you can't help but like her"?
searched on google, and looked up this phrase, "cant help but not like" and noticed that quite a A LOT of people seem to use the "can't help but not like" phrase in the same context I did earlier today. I also noticed that some people tend to use the phrase in a negative way, such as, "It was such a lousy movie that you can't help but NOT like it."
Isn't this also incorrect usage as well? If you don't like something, but want to use the "can't help but" phrase in this instance, wouldn't you say something like,
"It was such a lousy movie that you can't help but hate it?"
"she's such a lousy person that you can't help but dislike her?"
Top answer
[nq:1]Hi, I have a question about "can't help but not" phrases. I was talking about someone the other day, ... [/nq] What makes you think this is a stock english phrase?
- [nq:1]Hi, I have a question about "can't help but not" phrases.
- I was talking about someone the other day, ...
- [/nq] What makes you think this is a stock english phrase?
- I've never heard anybodt use it.
- [nq:1]Isn't this improper usage?
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6 Answers
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[nq:1]Hi, I have a question about "can't help but not" phrases. I was talking about someone the other day, ... not like her." I started wondering about the construction of how I said that as I didn't sound right.[/nq]
What makes you think this is a stock english phrase? I've never heard anybodt use it.
[nq:1]Isn't this improper usage? Seems improper because of the double negative. Wouldn't
What makes you think this is a stock english phrase? I've never heard anybodt use it.
[nq:1]Isn't this improper usage? Seems improper because of the double negative. Wouldn't
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[nq:1]Hi, I have a question about "can't help but not" phrases. I was talking about someone the other day, ... proper way to say this would be to simply state, "she's so nice that you can't help but like her"?[/nq]
I agree with you that there's one negative too many. I recommend staying away from the label "double negative," which is imprecise. If you really want to read up in detail on this s
I agree with you that there's one negative too many. I recommend staying away from the label "double negative," which is imprecise. If you really want to read up in detail on this s
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[nq:1]Hi, I have a question about "can't help but not" phrases. I was talking about someone the other day, ... not like her." I started wondering about the construction of how I said that as I didn't sound right.[/nq]
It depends on what you meant. If you meant that everyone who meets her likes her, then you wanted "can't help but like," If on the other hand, she's one of those people who are s
It depends on what you meant. If you meant that everyone who meets her likes her, then you wanted "can't help but like," If on the other hand, she's one of those people who are s
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[nq:2]Hi, I have a question about "can't help but not" ... of how I said that as I didn't sound right.[/nq]
[nq:1]What makes you think this is a stock english phrase? I've never heard anybodt use it.[/nq]
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22can%27t+help+b
[nq:1]What makes you think this is a stock english phrase? I've never heard anybodt use it.[/nq]
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22can%27t+help+b
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[nq:1]Hi, I have a question about "can't help but not" phrases. I was talking about someone the other day, ... proper way to say this would be to simply state, "she's so nice that you can't help but like her"?[/nq]
If you mean to say what that says, I would say, "Can't help but dislike her." I think people would understand that right away, and not suspect you of being confused.
If you thin
If you mean to say what that says, I would say, "Can't help but dislike her." I think people would understand that right away, and not suspect you of being confused.
If you thin
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[nq:1]Hi, I have a question about "can't help but not" phrases. I was talking about someone the other day, ... not like her." I started wondering about the construction of how I said that as I didn't sound right.[/nq]
You're reading it wrong.
It's not "can't help but not"; it's "can't help but" + X, where X can be affirmative, negative, or whatever else it needs to be.
You're reading it wrong.
It's not "can't help but not"; it's "can't help but" + X, where X can be affirmative, negative, or whatever else it needs to be.
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