Two negatives

Question

Dear forum members,Below are the lines from A House of Cards that caught my eye:"You didn't call me, Francis. Nine hours.You don't not call me. Not when it's this big."A House of Cards (TV series). Season 1 (2013), episode 1Claire Francis says that to her husband. The question is: what do you make of it? It seems that it's not the case when two negatives make a positive, right? If yes, how shall we analyse the whole thing from a grammatical standpoint?Your opinions will be greatly appreciated!Many thanks in advance, Max

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

AnonymousYou didn't call me, Francis. Nine hours.You don't not call me. Not when it's this big.

I assume the only item of interest is "You don't not call me". It's saying, in casual style, "It is unacceptable for you not to call me. (This is something that is simply not permitted.)"

Grammatically "don't" has to take the plain form of a verb: don't talk; don't look; don't say; ... When a plain verb is negated, it just takes "not" in front of it. You don't not talk; You don't not look; You don't not say; ... But keep in mind that this case is very unusual because it involves a sort of idiom. You don't have permission not to do something ~ You don't have permission to neglect/fail to do something.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Many thanks, CalifJim, for your input!

Yes, that's what it means, and I think I should have asked this:

1) Some sources say that this construction is possible in Black English Vernacular, but not in refined speech — and here we deal with the refined idiom of an American congressman! How would you explain that? Does it mean that double negative are slowly creeping into spontaneous everyday speech?

2) Could it be (anyhow, I don't know) that 'don't not call me' is not an instance of a double negative but something like this:

- Yes, madam! - Don't "Madam" me quite as much as you do (Henry Green. https://books.google.ru/books?id=q7wB2ZHiUlAC&pg=PA156&lpg=PA156&dq=Don%27t+you+%22madam%22+me&source=bl&ots=7iZq1B2H8B&sig=KuV_-phx8LvjtpMoKvIMe0GUtJc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAGoVChMI4tKpmZepxwIVhAwsCh1zMQUT#v=onepage&q=Don%27t%20you%20%22madam%22%20me&f=false)

Madam is used like a bare-form verb. Could it be that something similar happens to 'not call'?

Sorry if I'm not clear enough.

Many thanks!

Max

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Anonymous1) Some sources say that this construction is possible in Black English Vernacular,

That is not the typical double negative of AAVE. It is close to indirect speech: Don't "not call me", where "not call me" represents a command or action that is unacceptable.

Here are some AAVE negation patterns:

Ain't nobody here.
I ain't got no money.
Can't nobody say nothing about it.

AnonymousDon't "Madam" me quite as much as you do

It means "Don't say "madam" so much. The speaker finds that tedious or objectionable.

CalifJim · Answer

Anonymous1) Some sources say ... Does it mean that double negative are slowly creeping into spontaneous everyday speech?

No, it doesn't mean that. This is a totally different construction from the so-called "double negative" that makes a positive. Both negatives in this construction are negatives. They don't cancel each other.

Anonymous2) Could it be (anyhow, I don't know) that 'don't not call me' is not an instance of a double negative

Correct, as noted above. And this is not the only case.

— We've received an invitation to a wedding.
— Ignore it. I don't want to go.
— But it says RSVP, so we can't not reply.

Anonymoussomething like this:- Yes, madam! - Don't "Madam" me quite as much as you do (Henry Green. Loving, Living, Party Going )Madam is used like a bare-form verb. Could it be that something similar happens to 'not call'?

Perhaps it has a family resemblance, but in my opinion it's not the exact same phenomenon due to the absence of two negatives. However, I doubt that any harm will come if you prefer to characterize it that way.

CJ

Two negatives

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