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A double negative is a construction occurring when two forms of grammatical negation are used in the same sentence. This is typically used to convey a different shade of meaning from a strictly positive sentence ("You're not unattractive" vs "You're attractive").
In propositional logic, the double negation of a statement states that "it is not the case that the statement is not true". In classical logic, every statement is logically equivalent to its double negation, but this is not true in intuitionistic logic; this can be expressed by the formula A ≡ ~(~A) where the sign ≡ expresses logical equivalence and the sign ~ expresses negation.
Double negatives as negative concord – 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 ...
An example is the "double-negative" in: "Nobody never lifted a finger to help her." Expletive negation is a standard usage in Old English , and in Middle English , as in this sentence, where, from a modern perspective, "not" and the negative marker "ne" seem to be not required: [ 18 ] [ 19 ]
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 ...
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.
a. ^ For example, among the top ten usage "errors" submitted to the BBC was the supposed prohibition against using double negatives. b. ^ The Churchill Centre describes a similar version as "An invented phrase put in Churchill's mouth". [48]
Another use of subject–auxiliary inversion is in sentences which begin with certain types of expressions which contain a negation or have negative force. For example, a. Jessica will say that at no time. b. At no time will Jessica say that. – Subject–auxiliary inversion with a fronted negative expression. c. Only on Mondays will Jessica ...