Not for Nothing

Question

0Would you help me interpret the following? The sentence is inverted because "not" is placed at the very beggining. This doesn't seem to be a case of the double negative. Or, is it?02br02br00Not for nothing is she a former singer.02br02br00Not for nothing is the city a sister city of New York.02br02br00Hiro02br02br00Sendai, Japan0-

Jay_zzz0 · Accepted Answer

0 Hi Hiro. I think the 'not' at the beginning of the sentence can be interpreted as a form of double negative.02br
02br
00'Not for nothing' sounds like 'there are some reasons behind' in your sentences. Let's see what others think.0-

Anonymous · Answer

0Hi, Jay.02br
02br
00Thanks for your thought. Yes, let's just await what other think. A quick Googling found so many similar examples.02br
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00Correction: as it is so clear "beggining" should have been "beginning" in my first post. I knocked the query up in no time as I sped out of my office.0-

HSS · Answer

0Hi, Jay.02br
02br
00Thanks for your thought. Yes, let's just await what others think. A quick Googling found so many similar examples.02br
02br
00Correction: as it is so clear "beggining" should have been "beginning" in my first post. I knocked the query up in no time as I sped out of my office.02br
02br
00Hiro0-

Goodman · Answer

0Hi all,02br
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00To be honest, I've never seen or heard this before.0-

Clive · Answer

0Hi guys,02br
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01font00Not for nothing is the city a sister city of New York 02font00can be rephrased as 02br
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01font00The city is not a sister city of New York for nothing.02font00 The meaning is that there is, indeed, a reason.02br
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00The double negative adds emphasis. For example,if someone asks me to help them with their English, I might say 01font00I do01font00n't02font00 work for 01font00nothing02font00!02font00 (01i00Not, alas, a principle that I follow on this forum02i00)02br
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00The inverted word order adds a rather rhetorical flourish and style to the sentence.02br
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00You'll find a few examples of this via google, eg 02br
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01b00Not for nothing do02b00 many established professional writers consider that it is harder to write a good short story than a novel. 02br
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00Best wishes, Clive0-

CalifJim · Answer

0 01blockquote

00This doesn't seem to be a case of the double negative. Or, is it?12br
12br
10 It is a double negative, but not a double negative intended to be a single negative. It is therefore correct.12br
10 Only a double negative wrongly substituting for a single negative is a problem grammatically.12br
10 This one is intended to be a double negative with double negative meaning.12br
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10 CJ12br
10 12blockquote

1-

HSS · Answer

0 01blockquote

01cite10Clive12cite11b10Not for nothing do12b10 many established professional writers consider that it is harder to write a good short story than a novel. 12br
12br
10Best wishes, Clive12br
12br
12blockquote

10Hi, there.02br
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00I follow every example that you gave me but this. Could you paraphrase it, Clive?02br
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00Oh, okay, so the sentences is a positive statement ... okay, thanks, CJ.02br
02br
00Hiro02br
02br
0-

Clive · Answer

0Hi,02br
01font02br
02br
00Not for nothing do many established professional writers consider that it is harder to write a good short story than a novel. 01i01font00Could you paraphrase it?02font02i02br
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01i00Many established professional writers do not consider for nothing that it is harder to write a good short story than a novel.02i00 In other words,02br
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01i00Many established professional writers do not consider for no reason that it is harder to write a good short story than a novel.02i00 In other words,02br
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01i00Many established professional writers have a reason to consider that it is harder to write a good short story than a novel. 02i00In other words,02br
02br
01i00Many established professional writers consider that it is harder to write a good short story than a novel. 02i02br
02br
00Clive02br
02font0-

Not for Nothing

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