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Ahn Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

not+adverb

1b00"Indeed, they 01font00not infrequently02font00 find that they can't see any relationship at all beteen the ideas in a set"02b02br
02br
00I read a sentence above and a question arised about the puple colored part.02br
02br
00Is 'not' used in this way in a sentence? If it is, can I make a sentence like this?02br
02br
01b00"I not often use that car"02b0-
  

Top answer

0Good question, Ahn. The quoted sentence is indeed a 01u 00not uncommon02u 00 structure, but it must be used with care, and your effort does not match the criteria required. As you can see, '01i 00not infrequently02i 00' and my own '01i 00not uncommon02i 00' contain a sort of double negative, and their meanings are subtly different (01i 01b 00not in02b 00frequently = rather frequently; 01b 00not un02b 00common = rather common02i 00).

— Mister Micawber

  • 0Good question, Ahn.
  • The quoted sentence is indeed a 01u 00not uncommon02u 00 structure, but it must be used with care, and your effort does not match the criteria required.
  • As you can see, '01i 00not infrequently02i 00' and my own '01i 00not uncommon02i 00' contain a sort of double negative, and their meanings are subtly different (01i 01b 00not in02b 00frequently = rather frequently; 01b 00not un02b 00common = rather common02i 00).
  • This usage is a way of ameliorating the effect of these phrases on the reader.
  • 0-
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2 Answers
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0Good question, Ahn. The quoted sentence is indeed a 01u00not uncommon02u00 structure, but it must be used with care, and your effort does not match the criteria required. As you can see, '01i00not infrequently02i00' and my own '01i00not uncommon02i00' contain a sort of double negative, and their meanings are subtly different
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0I see. It's interesting expression.02br
02br
00Thanks a lot, Mister Micawber.0-
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