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Rpsh Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

I hope he hasn't done no harm, sir, nor me.'

I hope he hasn't done no harm, sir, nor me.'

I can't understand if he and "I" has do harm on earth.
  

Top answer

rpsh I can't understand if he and "I" has do harm on earth. Do harm = make a mistake, offend someone, or any other possible meanings of "harm" The sentence is a double negative, so likely spoken by someone who speaks a regional dialect rather than standard English. Of course we all live on earth, but I really don't understand your question.

— AlpheccaStars

  • rpsh I can't understand if he and "I" has do harm on earth.
  • Do harm = make a mistake, offend someone, or any other possible meanings of "harm" The sentence is a double negative, so likely spoken by someone who speaks a regional dialect rather than standard English.
  • Of course we all live on earth, but I really don't understand your question.
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18 Answers
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rpshI can't understand if he and "I" has do harm on earth.
Do harm = make a mistake, offend someone, or any other possible meanings of "harm"
The sentence is a double negative, so likely spoken by someone who speaks a regional dialect rather than standard English.

Of course we all live on earth, but I really don't understand your question.
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I hope he hasn't done no harm, sir, nor me. The part in red is called a double negative. In most contexts, it is sub--standard English.

The meaning is this.
I hope he has done no harm.
I hope I have d
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“On earth" is a phrase here,means afterall. So this kind of usage is infrequent to native speaker?
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I know it's a double negative as the same as the usage in Chinese. But, "hasn't done no" should mean " has done" , rather than your answer "has done no" . Actually, I can reason the meaning of the sentence by context. However, I still confound.
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If a speaker of standard English said He hasn't done no harm it would mean He has done harm. However, speakers of some regional dialects might say He hasn't done no harm when they mean He hasn't done any harm. It is not standard English, but we know what they are trying to say. I recommend that you don't copy them, though.
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Wow! So iNet resting and flexible! I get it! Thanks a bunch!
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Would you guys consider a double negation as sub-standard or simply incorrect?
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'Sub-standard' is rather judgemental if we are talking about what may be normal and acceptable in some dialects.

I would say that it was incorrect in standard written English.
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fivejedjon'Sub-standard' is rather judgemental if we are talking about what may be normal and acceptable in some dialects.I would say that it was incorrect in standard written English.
I asked the question because I remember having an intriguing discussion with one of my Australian co-workers on the "standardness" (if I may say so) of English and its variation
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It's a kind of normal or standard expression in Chinese. But, the expression of the sentence which I have posted is never seen. Because, a double negation means affirmation. There is no such variant or dialect.
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