What is a Double Negative?
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A double negative is the use of two negatives in a single clause. Although the double negative construction is used in informal language to intensify a negative meaning, in formal language it is usually considered unacceptable. This is because in the ways that formal language are construed double negatives have the effect of canceling each other out, leaving a positive meaning, rather than intensifying a negative. The best approach to the double negative construction, as with other language issues, is to consider the context as you decide how you can most effectively communicate what you wish to say.
The force of a double negative construction includes obviously negative words like
| not | ain’t | no | none | never | nowhere |
but also adverbs with a negative slant, like
| barely | scarcely | hardly. |
Common double negative situations and possible ways to convey them in more formal situations are listed below. Notice that, in each case, one of the negative words has been replaced with a word having a positive meaning, so the net negatives in the sentence are reduced. Notice how many times the word any appears in the formal versions. Also, notice that the same sentiment is being expressed in each case, although the language is different.
- I don’t need none. → I don’t need any.
- I don’t want to go nowhere. → I don’t want to go anywhere.
- “I can’t get no satisfaction.” → I can’t get any satisfaction.
- I’m not gonna do no homework today. → I’m not going to do any homework today.
- I barely got no sleep last night. → I barely got any sleep last night.
- It was so hot, I couldn’t hardly breathe. → It was so hot, I could hardly breathe.
There are also occasions in which triple negatives are used to evoke an even greater sense of negation:
- I ain’t never gonna do no homework.
- I ain’t gonna take nothing from nobody.
- You ain’t never gonna go nowhere with me if you act like that.
In formal situations, these would also be reduced to the use of a single negative:
With words that have negative prefixes, like
| in- | un- | non- |
the meaning is construed differently: adding a negative before a word with one of these prefixes is understood to neutralize the negative and create a positive. These particular examples of the double negative construction, separate from those above, are considered to be a literary trope called litotes. In litotes, one uses a double negative to understate an affirmative. Here are some examples:
- That person is not unfamiliar to me. → That person is familiar to me.
- This essay is clearly not nonsense. → This essay is clearly sensible.
- I receive a not insufficient allowance. → I receive a sufficient allowance.
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New: Discuss this ArticlePosted by: intel47
I have heard the phrase, "I could care less" rather than, "I couldn't care less." I find I almost cringe when I hear less-than acceptable grammar and...when a person isn't articulate.
I've noticed even on television, "went (or gone) missing" rather than disappeared when a person is involved. You did really good rather than well. University education t.v. anchor/reporters, tend to be sloppy when it comes to using adverbs. I'd have thought by the time "talking heads" were on television, correct grammar and articulation, would be part of what they talk about...apparently not.
I had a typing teacher in high school, who attempted to teach us verbs and adverbs but somehow, along the way, the grammar gets forgotten.
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