Blog about English
Avoiding incorrect double negatives and understanding emphatic forms.
A double negative occurs when two negative elements occur in the same clause or construction and their interaction produces either a legitimate meaning or an unintended/nonstandard form.
English standard usage distinguishes between grammatical multiple-negative constructions and double negatives that incorrectly express a single negation.
Standard formal English generally avoids two independent negative elements when they are intended to express a single negative proposition.
For example, I didn't see anybody is standard, while I didn't see nobody normally has a different or nonstandard interpretation.
Standard English normally uses not with any rather than not with another negative determiner when simple negation is intended.
For example, I don't have any money is standard for the intended meaning, rather than I don't have no money.
Negative clauses normally use not with anyone rather than not with nobody when a single negation is intended.
For example, I didn't tell anyone.
Negative clauses normally use not with anything rather than not with nothing when a single negation is intended.
For example, She didn't say anything.
Negative clauses normally use not with anywhere rather than not with nowhere when a single negation is intended.
For example, We didn't go anywhere.
Words such as nobody, nothing, nowhere, and neither already express negative meaning and normally do not require another negative marker.
For example, Nobody came, Nothing happened, and We went nowhere.
Neither ... nor is a grammatical two-part negative construction expressing that both alternatives are excluded.
For example, Neither John nor Mary came.
A clause using neither normally does not also require not when neither itself expresses the negation.
For example, Neither answer is correct, not Neither answer isn't correct when the intended meaning is that both are incorrect.
Nor can introduce a second negative proposition after a negative statement and can trigger auxiliary inversion.
For example, I don't like coffee, nor do I like tea.
Not until expresses that something does not happen before a specified time or event.
For example, We did not leave until midnight.
When not until is fronted for emphasis, auxiliary inversion normally occurs in the main clause.
For example, Not until midnight did we leave.
Not ... without can form a legitimate construction expressing that an action does not occur in the absence of another condition or that two events are closely linked.
For example, He never leaves without checking the doors and I cannot leave without saying goodbye.
Cannot ... without can express a necessary connection rather than an accidental double negative.
For example, I cannot sleep without listening to music.
Not uncommon is a legitimate negative construction often used to mean fairly common or occurring with some frequency.
For example, It is not uncommon to see this error.
Not impossible is a legitimate construction meaning possible, but often with emphasis on uncertainty or lack of certainty.
For example, A recovery is not impossible.
Not unusual means that something occurs or is found with reasonable frequency and is a legitimate double-negative construction.
For example, It is not unusual for prices to rise in summer.
Not infrequent is a formal negative construction meaning fairly frequent or not rare.
For example, Such errors are not infrequent.
Cannot help but + base verb is a grammatical construction meaning cannot avoid or cannot stop oneself from doing something.
For example, I couldn't help but laugh.
Cannot help + gerund expresses the same basic inability to avoid an action.
For example, I couldn't help laughing.
Cannot help but + base verb and cannot help + gerund have closely related meanings and are both standard.
For example, I cannot help but smile and I cannot help smiling.
Negative concord uses multiple negative elements to express a single semantic negation and occurs systematically in some varieties and dialects of English.
For example, forms such as I didn't see nothing occur in some dialects, even though standard formal English normally uses I didn't see anything.
A negative-concord construction can be grammatical within its variety while being inappropriate in standard formal English.
The distinction concerns dialect and register rather than simply intelligence or logical ability.
Two negative elements can sometimes produce a logically positive meaning rather than a single negation.
For example, The claim is not impossible does not mean that the claim is impossible; it means that possibility remains.
A word containing a negative prefix does not automatically require or forbid sentence negation.
For example, not uncommon and uncommon are different in meaning, but not uncommon is not an error merely because uncommon already contains negative morphology.
No and not can occur together legitimately when they have different scopes or grammatical functions.
For example, There is no reason not to go contains no reason plus the negative infinitive not to go.
Not and neither can occur in structures where neither belongs to a separate coordinated or echoed negative proposition, but they should not duplicate the same negation accidentally.
For example, I don't like it, and neither does she is standard.
Neither ... nor and not ... or can express related negative alternatives, but their syntax and scope differ.
For example, Neither John nor Mary came differs from John or Mary did not come, which can have a different scope.
Questions containing multiple negative elements can be ambiguous, dialectal, or rhetorically marked.
For example, Didn't nobody tell you? is not the standard formal equivalent of Did nobody tell you?
Standard formal writing generally prefers explicit single-negation structures unless a legitimate multiple-negative construction is intended.
For example, We did not find anything is clearer in formal writing than We did not find nothing.
Multiple negative forms can sometimes be intentionally used for rhetorical emphasis or understatement.
For example, It is not an entirely unreasonable proposal uses negation to soften rather than simply reverse the meaning.
The interpretation of multiple negatives depends on their grammatical scope rather than on simply counting the word not.
For example, There is no reason not to leave contains two negative elements with different scopes and does not express a simple contradictory statement.
Some apparently negative combinations are established expressions and should be learned as complete patterns.
Examples include cannot help but, not uncommon, not impossible, and not until.
The grammatical interpretation of multiple negatives cannot always be determined by mathematical-style cancellation.
For example, not uncommon means relatively common rather than simply being treated as a mechanical cancellation of two negatives.
Distinguish incorrect double negatives from legitimate multiple-negative structures and account for scope, dialect, register, and fixed expressions.
Common mistakes include using nobody with didn't, using no with not when a simple negative is intended, rejecting legitimate forms such as not uncommon, and misunderstanding negative-concord varieties.