Two negative in one sentence.

Question

I'll give you an example, please tell me if it's correct.

example:

Q:don't you think it's not acceptable?

A:yes I do.(=it's not acceptable.)

is this correct?

it's confusing because even if I answered 'yes' but the meaning is still negative due to double 'not'

Avangi · Accepted Answer

The usage and your analysis of it are both correct.

When asking a question like this, we don't expect the "technically correct" answer. We count on the tag to keep our intention straight.

Don't you think she's wrong? (reply) Yes, I do.

"Do you think" and "don't you think" are really used interchangeably, and the choice doesn't affect the answer.

They're both taken as "Do you agree etc."

The "don't" choice simply emphasizes that the questioner believes that what follows is true, be it negative or positive.

A "no" response means that the respondant disagrees.

Don't you think it won't work? (reply) No, I think it will.

Do you think it won't work? (reply) No, I think it will. In the second case, the questioner is neutral.

But you can't count on the meaning of the "yes/no." Stick with the tag!

We generally would not say, "Yes, I don't," or "No, it is." When they're opposite, we often repeat the verb.

Don't you think she's wrong? (reply) No, I think she's right.

I didn't intend to drag this on. It's hard to pin down!

- A.

Ha ha ha · Answer

simply, I don't have to care about 'do' or 'don't' at the begining of the sentence but just care about the verb at the back of the sentence? if I answered 'yes' that means I agree the verb which is used in the question 'no' means I don't agree with the verb?

thanks for your help~

Two negative in one sentence.

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