Double Negatives

What are Negatives? Words that produce opposite meanings Examples Mr. Morton is not boring. That hardly matters. You can’t leave though.

Common Negative Words “No” Words: Limiting Modifiers: neither, no, none, not, nothing, nowhere, nobody Limiting Modifiers: barely, hardly, never, rarely, scarcely Negative Contractions: can’t, couldn’t, didn’t, doesn’t, isn’t, wasn’t, won’t

What are Double Negatives? Using two negative words in one phrase Double negatives create positive meanings. Examples Mr. Morton isn’t not boring. That hardly doesn’t matter. You can’t never leave though.

Why Not Use Double Negatives? They confuse readers and listeners. Ex: I ain’t never turned down no pizza. You might say something unintended. Ex: I don’t want no pizza. There’s an easier way to express it. Ex: I never turn down pizza.

Negative Prefixes Some modifiers have built in negatives. Ex: dishonest, incapable, unfair Avoid Accidental Double Negation Well, he’s isn’t dishonest. She won’t be incapable. They aren’t unfair.

Review Negative words reverse meanings. Double negation will turn it positive. “dis-” “un-” “in-” and “non-” are often negative prefixes. Don’t use double negatives.