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Iskander Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Double negation
Hello everyone,
I'm well aware double negation is considered ungrammatical, but it has been a few times that I've come across a peculiar kind of construction where a rhetoric question or a questionable statement is followed by a denial, which is initiated with a negative condition and contains a negated verb as well. For instance, "not right now it doesn't [do something aforementioned]", or "not until then they wouldn't", or anything of that shape. Could anybody please tell me if this kind of sentences highlighted make sense to a native speaker, and if they do, exactly how grammatical they are in a formal context. Any input will be hugely appreciated.
Thank you very much in advance!
I'm well aware double negation is considered ungrammatical, but it has been a few times that I've come across a peculiar kind of construction where a rhetoric question or a questionable statement is followed by a denial, which is initiated with a negative condition and contains a negated verb as well. For instance, "not right now it doesn't [do something aforementioned]", or "not until then they wouldn't", or anything of that shape. Could anybody please tell me if this kind of sentences highlighted make sense to a native speaker, and if they do, exactly how grammatical they are in a formal context. Any input will be hugely appreciated.
Thank you very much in advance!
Top answer
Hi Iskander, and welcome to English Forums. There is nothing ungrammatical about a double negative, per se. A double negative is not grammatical when two negatives are used in a row to mean something negative.
- Hi Iskander, and welcome to English Forums.
- There is nothing ungrammatical about a double negative, per se.
- A double negative is not grammatical when two negatives are used in a row to mean something negative.
- " That sort of double negative is not grammatical.
- In your examples, the negatives are both intentional.
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2 Answers
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Hi Iskander, and welcome to English Forums.
There is nothing ungrammatical about a double negative, per se.
A double negative is not grammatical when two negatives are used in a row to mean something negative.
I didn't do nothing, logically, means "I did something" but the intended meaning is "I did nothing" or "I didn't do anything." That sort of double negative is not
There is nothing ungrammatical about a double negative, per se.
A double negative is not grammatical when two negatives are used in a row to mean something negative.
I didn't do nothing, logically, means "I did something" but the intended meaning is "I did nothing" or "I didn't do anything." That sort of double negative is not
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Thank you Grammar Geek.
Thus, since the negatives in my examples aren't going in a row, they are both used for the sake of ease of comprehension, one referring to the auxiliary verb and the other referring to the adverb, am I getting it right? I just had to wonder, because putting the adverbial clause to the end of either sentence makes for a usual sentence with a sole negation in it, so
Thus, since the negatives in my examples aren't going in a row, they are both used for the sake of ease of comprehension, one referring to the auxiliary verb and the other referring to the adverb, am I getting it right? I just had to wonder, because putting the adverbial clause to the end of either sentence makes for a usual sentence with a sole negation in it, so
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