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Sitifan Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
Illogical negation
I shouldn't be surprised if they didn't get married soon.
I wonder if we cannot get any more.
The tractor didn't miss running over me by more than an inch.
I wouldn't be surprised if some day you didn't inform the Gestapo about the sniper for the reward.
The above negations in bold italic are semantically odd, aren't they?
I wonder if we cannot get any more.
The tractor didn't miss running over me by more than an inch.
I wouldn't be surprised if some day you didn't inform the Gestapo about the sniper for the reward.
The above negations in bold italic are semantically odd, aren't they?
Top answer
While pleonastic negations are fairly common in French and somewhat so in several other languages, they are extremely infrequent in English. wonder and [wouldn't / shouldn't] be surprised are probably the only two expressions commonly followed by pleonastic not . These expressions work somewhat like the modal may in that may and may not have about the same meaning, the essential meaning of may encapsulating a sort of balancing act between the affirmative and the negative.
- While pleonastic negations are fairly common in French and somewhat so in several other languages, they are extremely infrequent in English.
- wonder and [wouldn't / shouldn't] be surprised are probably the only two expressions commonly followed by pleonastic not .
- These expressions work somewhat like the modal may in that may and may not have about the same meaning, the essential meaning of may encapsulating a sort of balancing act between the affirmative and the negative.
- For example, That statement may be true does not contradict That statement may not be true in the same way that negation usually generates a contradiction.
- Likewise, if we wonder, we don't know, so wondering about the affirmative amounts to wondering about the negative.
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1 Answers
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While pleonastic negations are fairly common in French and somewhat so in several other languages, they are extremely infrequent in English.
wonder and [wouldn't / shouldn't] be surprised are probably the only two expressions commonly followed by pleonastic not.
These expressions work somewhat like the modal may in that may and may not h
wonder and [wouldn't / shouldn't] be surprised are probably the only two expressions commonly followed by pleonastic not.
These expressions work somewhat like the modal may in that may and may not h
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