Double Negatives

Double Negatives

eLearning Day 4

What are double negatives?

• A double negative is a non-standard sentence or phrase that contains two negative words.

You can form a negative using different word classes, such as:

• a negative verb, e.g. did not, was not, do not, have not, cannot

• a negative adverb, e.g. no, not, never, hardly, rarely

• a negative pronoun, e.g. no one, nobody, nothing

Famous Examples of Double Negatives

Poems and songs are littered with double negatives. They are often used because of their ambiguous nature.

Famous songs include:

-"We Don’t Need No Education!" by Pink Floyd

-"Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone" by Bill Withers

-"It’s Not Unusual" by Tom Jones

- "(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones

-"Ain’t No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

Poems and song lyrics often knowingly use double negatives to suggest different meanings and allow multiple interpretations.

Why are double negatives a problem?

• Sentences with double negatives are not grammatically correct . . . and they’re confusing. That’s because double negatives cancel each other out and make a positive. So, when you use a double negative it ends up being the exact opposite of what you mean. You’ll write a stronger sentence when you put statements in a positive form.

Recognizing Negative Words

-A negative is a word or phrase that shows you reject or disagree with something. We use negatives all the time in regular conversation, so a lot of these words should be familiar to you.

-Negative doesn't necessarily mean that something is bad or that you have a negative attitude. It just means you're negating something—in other words, stating that the opposite is true. You could be referring to anything: good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant.

Poll

Which of the following words are negative?

• No

• Shouldn't

• Rarely

• never

• I'm

Multiple Select

Which of the following words are negative?

• Nobody

• Anyone

• Can't

• Nothing

Multiple Select

Which words in the following sentence are negative?

I don’t never get to go anywhere.

• anywhere

• don't

• never

• get

Multiple Select

Which words in the following sentence are negative?

Hasn’t nobody heard of this band before?

• Hasn't

• nobody

• heard

• before

Multiple Select

Which of the following sentences contain a double negative?

Be thinking how to correctly write the sentences.

• Does Bigfoot exist?

• Most people don't have no clue.

• Bigfoot hasn't never been spotted.

• However, lots of people have pretended to be Bigfoot.

How could you correct the following sentences?

• Most people don't have no clue.

• Bigfoot hasn't never been spotted.

Multiple Select

Which of the following sentences contain a double negative?

• They haven't never looked that real though.

• Scientists say they don’t think

  there’s nothing fake about Bigfoot.

• His tracks don’t look like no fake

  tracks they have seen.

• In fact, they think there isn't any evidence to prove he is fake.

How could you correct the following sentences?

• His tracks don’t look like no fake

  tracks they have seen.

• Scientists say they don’t think

  there’s nothing fake about Bigfoot.

• They haven't never looked that real though.