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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

double negative sentence

Hello teachers!

There is a fairly confusing double negative sentence that don't know whether I should see two negative indicators(unlikely & unable) as positive or take it as double emphasis for being negative?

Here's the sentence:

I am afraid it is unlikely that we will be unable to accept any further registrations.

I know that if the sentence goes 'it is likely that we will be unable.. ' or 'it is unlikely that we will be able..' carry the same meaning of refusing politely, but what about in this context, does it mean 'able' or 'unable' ?

And does the word 'any' here contain a negative sense at all?

To avoid such confusion to English learners like me , what would you suggest to distinguish the meaning of double negative sentences?

Thank you!
  

Top answer

it is unlikely that we will be unable to accept any = we will probably be able to accept some. 'Unfortunately' in this context seems exceedingly odd.

  • it is unlikely that we will be unable to accept any = we will probably be able to accept some.
  • 'Unfortunately' in this context seems exceedingly odd.
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1 Answers
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it is unlikely that we will be unable to accept any = we will probably be able to accept some.

'Unfortunately' in this context seems exceedingly odd.

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