Double negatives intensify negativity in informal speech but are unacceptable in formal speech as they cancel each other out. Triple negatives are used for greater negation. Litotes use double negatives to understate an affirmative. Words with negative prefixes neutralize the negative and create a positive.
A double negative is the use of two negatives in a single clause. While this construction is used in informal speech to intensify a negative meaning, in formal speech it is generally considered unacceptable. This is because words have the effect of canceling each other out, leaving a positive meaning, rather than intensifying a negative one. The best approach to this construction, as with other linguistic matters, is for the speaker or writer to consider the context as he decides how to most effectively communicate what he wishes to say.
The strength of a double negative construction obviously includes negative words such as
notin’nonnoneneevernowhere
but also
adverbs
with a negative cut, like
barely barely.
Listed below are common double negative situations and possible ways to convey them in more formal situations. Writers should note that, in each case, one of the negative words has been replaced with a word having a positive meaning, so the sharp negatives in the sentence are reduced. The word any often appears in formal versions. In each case the same sentiment is expressed, although the language is different.
I don’t need anyone. → I don’t need it. I don’t want to go anywhere. → I don’t want to go anywhere. I can’t find any satisfaction. → I can’t get any satisfaction. I won’t do my homework today. → I’m not going to do my homework today. I barely slept last night. → I barely slept last night. It was so hot that I could hardly breathe. → It was so hot that I could hardly breathe.
There are also occasions where triple negatives are used to evoke an even greater sense of negation:
I’ll never do my homework. I won’t take anything from anyone. You’ll never go anywhere with me if you act like this.
In formal situations, even these would boil down to using a single negative:
I’ll never do my homework. I won’t take anything from anyone. You’ll never go anywhere with me if you act like this.
With words that have negative prefixes, such as
in-a-non-
the meaning is interpreted differently: adding a negative before a word with one of these prefixes is intended to neutralize the negative and create a positive. These particular examples, separate from those above, are considered literary
trope
said
understatement
. In litotes, a person uses a double negative to understate an affirmative. Here are some examples:
That person is not unknown to me. → That person is familiar to me. This essay is clearly not nonsense. → This essay clearly makes sense. I receive an insufficient allowance. → I receive sufficient compensation.
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