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As far as I understand, both of these sentences imply that the speaker is unable to see anything.

Is one sentence more correct than the other or can they be used interchangeably everywhere?

Also, why doesn't a negative word "don't" have any effect on the resulting meaning of the second sentence in the title?

For eg.

I see her

and

I don't see her

are pretty different.

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1 Answer 1

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In standard English (unlike much dialect and slang usage), "I don't see nothing" is incorrect - unless your intended meaning is "I see something". In standard English, a "double negative" results in one negation cancelling out the other negation, resulting in an affirmative meaning.

In standard English, the correct expressions are:

  • I don't see anything.
  • I see nothing.
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  • I think you can use I "don't see nothing" just to have fun, but, put in a formal paper, it should be "I do not see anything" or "I see nothing".
    – Vitaliy Brusso
    Nov 18, 2019 at 19:10
  • What about, I see no something VS I don't see something
    – Suhayb
    Aug 18, 2021 at 20:44

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