"Might this be a good idea?" Vs "Might this not be a good idea?"
The context in which I've asked this question is pertinent - how to explain the difference between "Might this be a good idea?" and "Might this not be a good idea?" It was posted as a grammatical test put before a group of students (in a broader editing course), thus: The Mozambicans nodded intermittently, but not, or so it seemed to Sonja, at the appropriate points in the speech. She began to wonder if it might not have been a good idea to hire a translator ...
One respondent edited out the word 'not' – "She began to wonder if it might have been a good idea to hire a translator ...
In my mind, this suggests uncertainty.
Any thoughts?
Top answer
Oddly enough, the sentences express the same idea. Both are correct. That is a great question.
- Oddly enough, the sentences express the same idea.
- Both are correct.
- That is a great question.
- There is no uncertainty in either sentence.
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Oddly enough, the sentences express the same idea. Both are correct. That is a great question.
There is no uncertainty in either sentence.
0bee train 872She began to wonder if it might not have been a good idea to hire a translator ...
The verb "wonder" allows the following indirect yes-no question (introduced by if or whether) to contain a pleonastic negative — in other words, a meaningless "not" which does not actually negate the rest of the clause.
The following sentences
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