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For this reason, it is difficult to portray double negatives in writing as the level of intonation to add weight in one's speech is lost. A double negative intensifier does not necessarily require the prescribed steps, and can easily be ascertained by the mood or intonation of the speaker. Compare There isn't no other way. = There's some other way.
But the term "double negative" can sometimes refer to the standard English constructions called litotes or nested negatives, e.g., using "He is not unhealthy" to mean "He is healthy". In some cases, nested negation is used to convey nuance, uncertainty, or the possibility of a third option other than a statement or its negation.
Double negatives – e.g., "We don't need no education" [15] Certain double modals – e.g., "You might could do it" – not considered standard, but used for example in Southern American English [16] Double copula [17] – e.g., "What has to happen is, is that the money has to come from somewhere" [18] Preposition stranding – e.g., "You have ...
In rhetoric, litotes (/ l aɪ ˈ t oʊ t iː z, ˈ l aɪ t ə t iː z /, US: / ˈ l ɪ t ə t iː z /), [1] also known classically as antenantiosis or moderatour, is a figure of speech and form of irony in which understatement is used to emphasize a point by stating a negative to further affirm a positive, often incorporating double negatives for effect.
Because standard English does not have negative concord, that is, double negatives are not used to intensify each other, the language makes frequent use of certain NPIs that correspond in meaning to negative items, and can be used in the environment of another negative. For example, anywhere is an NPI corresponding to the negative nowhere, as ...
For example, the negation marker ba can be used as a non-future, or present tense, negative marker: a mɔnaabʊ ba kʊ a naŋkpaana (The buffalo has not killed the hunter), has ba used with the perfective A and imperfective A forms of the verb to indicate negation in the present tense
For example, if you have a dog breed that’s made for running, like an aerodynamic sighthound or an energetic springer spaniel, the new year could be the time to take up running together.
Auxiliaries in African American Vernacular English are related in a typical pattern. They can be grouped into negative forms and affirmative forms for each of the words. For example, "had" is an affirmative form, while "hatn" is the corresponding negative form. These same auxiliaries can be used to mark sentences for the anterior aspect.