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English does have double negatives, and they're grammatically correct when used properly. They simply cancel each other out which differs from Spanish where the
by RightMillennial 8y ago
English does have double negatives, and they're grammatically correct when used properly. They simply cancel each other out which differs from Spanish where they add emphasis.
- lloda 8y agoSpanish double negatives aren't emphatic, they're 'grammatical'. If you need one ('Nadie lo sabe') you cannot add another one for emphasis, and if you need two ('No lo sabe nadie') you cannot remove one for less emphasis.
- umanwizard 8y agoOut of curiosity, can you explain the difference in meaning between those two sentences?
- dorchadas 8y agoIt actually depends on your dialect. Many dialects of English use negative concord [1], which is what exists in Spanish and other languages (not emphasis) instead of having them 'cancel each other out'. For example, in my native dialect, "I ain't never had no need for none of them fancy toys" means "I never had any need for any of those fancy toys". It has nothing to do with canceling out other negatives or emphasis; if one thing is negative, they all need to be. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_negative https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_negative
- chrisseaton 8y ago> They simply cancel each other out They don't! "I ain't got no bread" means "I haven't got any bread". If they cancelled out it would mean "I have bread".