Questions tagged [negative-concord]
Negative concord is when a single semantic negation is expressed multiple times grammatically. It's usually limited to non-standard English: non-standard "I ain't got nothing" has two grammatical negations (-n't and no-) expressing one semantic negation, while the standard "I don't have anything" has only one grammatical negation (-n't) expressing the same idea.
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"I told you never to go nowhere without me!"
I told you never to go nowhere without me!
According to Grammarly, the above sentence contains a double negative and should be modified to something like, "I told you never to go anywhere ...
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Is this a double negation: "doesn't exist for neither X nor Y"
I'm having doubts about how to best put this in English, I'm torn between 3 options. Which of them are legal, and which is stylistically the best?
I want to convey that a solution does not exist for A ...
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“Yes, I did not" vs “No, I did not“
Whenever an old post is edited on a Stack Exchange site, the entire page is bumped to the top of the active page. Some eagle-eyed users might spot other spelling, formatting or grammatical issues on ...
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Is this grammatically correct? : Something is not A nor A', neither B nor B'
'To love is not demanding nor taking advantage needless to say, neither is it giving up nor sacrifice.'
Is this sentence correct?
Is there any room for improvement?
How about the following ...
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What is this actually saying? Written sentence: “This is not a story about wine, well not totally.”
What is this actually saying? Written sentence: “This is not a story about wine, well not totally.” The writer means "There's more to this story than just wine." It's a voiceover attempting to be ...
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Negation of a Negative Statement
My understanding that negating a negation is proof.
like:
They are not uncooperative = They are cooperative.
I understand that the use of the negative statement could slightly change the meaning ...
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"Ain't" negative or positive?
Dictionaries say ain't is a contracted form of am not, is not, are not, has not, or have not.
The Cambridge Dictionary gives the following example sentences as well.
He ain't going.
"Can I ...
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"No, of course not" vs "Of course not"
What is more correct, No, of course not or Of course not?
For example if I am asked:
Would you mind looking after my bag?
I can answer
Of course not.
But if I answer
No, of course not.
...
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Why did they use "didn't XXX nobody" rather than "anybody"?
https://newsday.co.tt/2018/11/29/suspect-i-didnt-kill-nobody/
Suspect: ‘I didn’t kill nobody’
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Sentence structure with a double negative
I’m having issues with a double negative sentence. Bear in mind I don't want to change the sentence structure around, I just want to know if at the end of the sentence, I put the word isn’t or is
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I didn't do nothing or anything
Usually when I want to deny something I will say I didn't do anything
However, lately I watched some movies in which the people sometimes said I didn't do nothing
They use no instead of any, like ...
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Triple negation: What does "This ain't no place for no hero" mean?
What does "This ain't no place for no hero" mean? It's a phrase from the song "Short Change Hero", and while I think I understand it (This is not a place for people who are not ...
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"ain't … nobody" or "ain't … anybody"?
I just watched a TV show and the guy says:
I ain't trying to fight with nobody with a baby.
So here, I can't understand the "nobody" since it make no sense to me, but it sounds like anybody, and ...
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Should I say "I don't know nothing" or "I know nothing"? [duplicate]
Which of the following is correct?
"I don't know nothing"
or
"I know nothing"?
The context:
Question: Do you know who told him this thing?
Answer: No, I don't know nothing ...
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Is this an emphatic setence?
He [truck driver] held the screen door a little open. "Week–ten days,"
he said. "Got to make a run to Tulsa, an' I never get back soon as I
think." She [waitress] said crossly, "Don't let the ...
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