English

Practical English Grammar


Confusing usage words part eight


In mathematics, a negative number times a negative number yields a positive number.

Similarly, in grammar, when two negative words are used (where only one is needed), the
negatives cancel each other out, making the idea positive and not negative as intended. In
the sentence, ‘‘I cannot get no respect from them,’’ the two negative words, cannot and no,
cancel each other out. Thus, the sentence is really saying, ‘‘I can get respect from them,’’
a far different thought from what seems to be the sentence’s original intention. Had the
sentence read, ‘‘I cannot get respect from them,’’ or ‘‘I can get no respect from them,’’
the meaning is quite different from that when both negative words are included in the
sentence.
Here is another example of this double negative situation. Notice the different meanings
when the negative words are included or deleted.
Two negative words in the sentence: We didn’t have no disappointments.
One negative word in the sentence:We didn’t have disappointments.
One negative word in the sentence:We had no disappointments.

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Notes


Practical English Grammar - Notes
1. compound subjects part two
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2. Quotation Marks Part Three
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3. Italics Hyphens and Brackets
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4. complete and simple subjects
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5. Sound a like words Part Four
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6. the adjective clause
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7. the indirect object
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8. irregular verbs part two
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9. Commas Part Two
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10. Commas Part Four
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11. compound subjects part one
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12. what good writers do
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13. Periods Question Marks and Exclamation Marks
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14. the noun adjective pronoun question
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15. The nominative case
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16. The Colon
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17. subject verb agreement situations
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18. the interjection
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19. the object of the preposition
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20. types of nouns
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21. reflexive demonstrative and interrogative pronouns
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22. the adverb
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23. Active and passive voices
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24. Sound a like words Part Two
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25. Commas Part Three
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26. The Apostrophe
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27. Quotation Marks Part Two
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28. First Capitalization List
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29. Second Capitalization List
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30. subject and verb agreement
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31. the correlative conjunction
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32. the subordinating conjunction
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33. introducing phrases
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34. the prepositional phrase
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35. the adjective phrase
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36. the noun clause
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37. Confusing usage words part one
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38. Confusing usage words part two
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39. Confusing usage words part five
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40. Quotation Marks Part One
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41. indefinite pronouns
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42. complex sentences
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43. pronouns and their antecedents
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44. the preposition
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45. complete and simple predicates
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46. the verb phrase
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47. the pronoun
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48. the adverb phrase
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49. the appositive
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50. the participle and participial phrase
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