{"id":26617,"date":"2023-09-09T16:17:21","date_gmt":"2023-09-09T14:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?p=26617"},"modified":"2023-09-09T16:43:44","modified_gmt":"2023-09-09T14:43:44","slug":"double-negatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2023\/09\/double-negatives\/","title":{"rendered":"Double Negatives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In standard English, there should only be one negative form<\/strong> in the subject-predicate<\/strong> structure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The negative form is created by using negative words<\/strong> such as nobody, no one, nowhere, nothing<\/em><\/strong>.
Example:<\/strong>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She’s going nowhere<\/strong>.<\/td><\/tr>
Nobody <\/strong>was at home.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The negative form may also be created by making the verb negative<\/strong>.
Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will cook dinner.<\/td>I will not <\/strong>cook dinner.<\/td><\/tr>
We are going to the theatre.<\/td>We are not<\/strong> going to the theatre.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, there are cases when we hear double<\/strong> and even triple negatives<\/strong> being used in some regional dialects of English and other languages worldwide. This is mostly used in informal conversation <\/strong>and is not acceptable<\/strong> in formal <\/strong>contexts especially in writing.

Double Negative<\/mark><\/strong>
This is created by adding a negation<\/strong> to the verb<\/strong> and to words that modify<\/strong> the noun <\/strong>or the object of the verb<\/strong>.
Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

non-standard dialect <\/strong><\/td>standard English<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
I couldn’t never<\/strong> live with nobody<\/strong> like that.<\/td>I couldn’t ever<\/strong> live with anybody<\/strong> like that.<\/td><\/tr>
She never mentions nothing <\/strong>important to no one<\/strong>.<\/td>She never mentions anything<\/strong> important to anyone<\/strong>.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Double Negation with Adjectives and Adverbs<\/mark>  <\/mark><\/strong>( not + negative adjective\/adverb<\/strong> )<\/mark>
You can use ‘not’<\/strong><\/em> + a negative adjective or adverb<\/em><\/strong> to make your sentence less strong. By using this form, the overall meaning of the sentence becomes positive<\/strong> but it shows that the writer is fully aware of it. This is mainly used in formal writing.
Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not unimaginable<\/strong> that the election result will remain the same even after repeating it.<\/td><\/tr>
Misbehaving tourists are not uncommon<\/strong> in the city.<\/td><\/tr>
A: Your total bill is twenty euros.
B. Fine, that’s not unreasonable<\/strong>.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In standard English, there should only be one negative form in the subject-predicate structure.  The negative form is created by using negative words such as nobody, no one, nowhere, nothing.Example: She’s going nowhere. Nobody was at home. The negative form may also be created by making the verb negative.Example: I will cook dinner. I will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[309],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grammar"],"yoast_head":"\nDouble Negatives | phone english blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2023\/09\/double-negatives\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Double Negatives | phone english blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In standard English, there should only be one negative form in the subject-predicate structure.  The negative form is created by using negative words such as nobody, no one, nowhere, nothing.Example: She’s going nowhere. Nobody was at home. The negative form may also be created by making the verb negative.Example: I will cook dinner. I will […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2023\/09\/double-negatives\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"phone english blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/phoneenglish.es\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-09T14:17:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-09T14:43:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@phoneenglishes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@phoneenglishes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"PHONE ENGLISH\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/phoneenglish.es\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/phoneenglish\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/phoneenglishes\"],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/phone-english1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/phone-english1.png\",\"width\":200,\"height\":124,\"caption\":\"PHONE ENGLISH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"phone english blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2023\/09\/double-negatives\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2023\/09\/double-negatives\/\",\"name\":\"Double Negatives | phone english blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-09T14:17:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-09T14:43:44+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2023\/09\/double-negatives\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2023\/09\/double-negatives\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2023\/09\/double-negatives\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Blog\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"item\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2023\/09\/double-negatives\/#webpage\"}}]},{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2023\/09\/double-negatives\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2023\/09\/double-negatives\/#webpage\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/76165f65d4ee87fd79bb66a66b047cd7\"},\"headline\":\"Double Negatives\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-09T14:17:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-09T14:43:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2023\/09\/double-negatives\/#webpage\"},\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Grammar\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2023\/09\/double-negatives\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/76165f65d4ee87fd79bb66a66b047cd7\",\"name\":\"Sarah\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26617"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26629,"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26617\/revisions\/26629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}