double negitives??

[deleter154]

ok i dont get what people mean by double negitive and whats a negitive exactly?

[finta]

ok i dont get what people mean by double negitive and whats a negitive exactly?

Hi deleter!

Briefly:

A double negative is two negatively expressed ideas (either grammatical or semantic) in a sentence, which cancel each other out to become a positive e.g.

I don't like not knowing = I like knowing

She isn't unattractive = she's attractive

I haven't found nothing = I have found something

I dislike nobody = I (probably) actively like some people


These are just a few simple examples...double negatives can express many nuances of meaning, but hope this helps!

finta

[deleter154]

thanks this helps alot!!

[riverkid]

Hi deleter!

Briefly:

A double negative is two negatively expressed ideas (either grammatical or semantic) in a sentence, which cancel each other out to become a positive e.g.

1. I don't like not knowing = I like knowing

2. She isn't unattractive = she's attractive

3. I haven't found nothing = I have found something

4. I dislike nobody = I (probably) actively like some people

These are just a few simple examples...double negatives can express many nuances of meaning, but hope this helps!

Hello Finta,

Double negatives, without the necessary intonation, don't often express a positive.

For #1 above, there is a strong assumption that people do like to know things so seemingly, it points to a positive.

But for #2, it doesn't follow that a person described as "not unattractive", is attractive.

The notion that a double negative makes a positive was a prescriptive argument against double negatives that used fallacious reasoning.

"I don't have no money" does not, to any native speaker, mean that "I've got some/a lot of money".

Similarly, for your #3, it can't be concluded, in fact it would be a false assumption to conclude that the speaker had found something.

finta

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