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26TMNTJG2PG Posted 18 years ago
Linguistics Studies

Which sentence is correct?

0WITH Compaq, staying home has never been this fun.02br
02br
00or02br
02br
00Without Compaq, staying home has never been this fun.02br
02br
00The above sentences are actually taken from a blog post, 05002br
02br
00The blogger feels that the second sentence should serve the purpose intended, but the newspaper editor says that the first sentence should be the one, explaining that "staying home has never been this fun" means emphatically "staying at home is most fun". 02br
02br
00The explanation has discounted the word "never". Is this convincing?0230hrefhttp://kengtpenangenglish.blogspot.com/2008/04/double-negatives.htmlc"Double Negatives?"
  

Top answer

"02font 02a 02br 02br 01font 00The blogger feels that the second sentence should serve the purpose intended, but the newspaper editor says that the first sentence should be the one, explaining that "staying home has never been this fun" means emphatically "staying at home is most fun". 02font 02br 02br 01font 00The explanation has discounted the word "never". 02font 02br 02br 00If you re-arrange the wording to say 'Staying home with Compaq has never been this fun', it certainly makes Compaq part of an experience that is less fun than the fun we have right now.

— Clive

  • "02font 02a 02br 02br 01font 00The blogger feels that the second sentence should serve the purpose intended, but the newspaper editor says that the first sentence should be the one, explaining that "staying home has never been this fun" means emphatically "staying at home is most fun".
  • 02font 02br 02br 01font 00The explanation has discounted the word "never".
  • 02font 02br 02br 00If you re-arrange the wording to say 'Staying home with Compaq has never been this fun', it certainly makes Compaq part of an experience that is less fun than the fun we have right now.
  • I'm inclined to agree with the blogger.
  • The problem is how we should interpret the phrase 'with Compaq'.
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4 Answers
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0Hi,02br
02br
01font00WITH Compaq, staying home has never been this fun.02font01font02br
00or02br
00Without Compaq, staying home has never been this fun.02font02br
02br
01font00The above sentences are actually taken from a blog post,
0
0
0 02br
02br
00I appreciate your careful analysis and prompt reply. Thank you very much, Clive.02br
00 0-
0
0
0 Hi.02br
00 For the record, I agree with Clive, but I'd like to try a different analysis, just for the fun of it:02br
00 "With(out) Compaq, staying home has never been this fun."02br
00 Core sentence:02br
00 Staying home has never been this fun.02br
00 Look at two components and how they relate to the moment of speaking:02br
0
0
0
0Dawnstorm02br
02br
02br
00Thank you for your time and enthusiasm.02br
02br
00Best wishes.02br
00 0-
0

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