![]() That would also mean that Mick Jagger can get satisfaction, which would render the whole meaning of his life-pointless.īut I’m digressing. Using double negatives in English can even trigger international political crises, so it’s better to understand why their use isn’t accepted as grammatically correct in English.Īccording to Lexico “two negative elements cancel each other out to give a positive statement instead.” In theory, this would mean that when a whole generation of young people was singing with Waters “we don’t need no education,” they were actually meaning that they needed education. “I wasn’t looking for nobody when you looked my way.” Rihanna (Don’t Stop the Music). “ Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone.” Bill Withers (that song from the “Notting Hill” film). “I can’t get no satisfaction.” Mick Jagger, Rolling Stones. Apparently, this is a common trait among legendary musicians: Meaning that Roger Waters may be a great musician, but not so great in grammar. However, Oxford also tells us that “this use is not considered correct in standard English.” To say this, the legendary British band uses two negative words: “don’t” and “no.” The statement is negative because what they’re expressing is that education is not needed. What’s a Double Negative?Īccording to the Oxford Learner’s dictionary a double negative is “a negative statement containing two negative words.” For example, that famous phrase from Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick on the Wall”: Then, we’ll discuss why double negatives are accepted in Spanish but not in English, and finally we’ll learn how to form your own double negatives in Spanish.įorget about what Pink Floyd says, we do need education. If you’re not sure what’s a double negative, don’t worry we’ll start there. In today’s post, we’ll explore the weird but fascinating universe of double negatives in Spanish. However, if Pink Floyd were a Spanish band suddenly this problem would simply go away.īecause in English double negatives aren’t considered correct, but we love double negatives in Spanish! Dominguez Spanish Grammar 0 comments A Guide to Double Negatives in Spanishĭid you know that one of the most famous lyrics in the history of rock is grammatically incorrect? It is important to learn these expressions exactly as they are written because the significance of idiomatic expressions usually depends on the exact order of the words, and they cannot be looked up in most dictionaries.Januby Luis F. Some negative expressions are created by using a group of words with a specific meaning separate from their word‐for‐word translations. You must use a form of the word ninguno to do this. ![]() *Note that the word “no” cannot negate a noun in Spanish as it does in English. It is important to learn these words and understand that a negative sentence will never use the affirmative versions even though the English equivalent might. Table 1 is a list of affirmative words that have negative counterparts. It's a lot easier to learn about negative Spanish sentences if you have already learned the important vocabulary typically used in negative sentences and their affirmative counterparts. ![]() Quiz: Command Forms with Reflexive Pronouns.Reflexive, Prepositional, and Demonstrative Pronouns.Verbs That Change Meaning in the Preterite.Quiz: Verbs That Change Meaning in the Preterite.Quiz: Irregulars in the Preterite Tense.Quiz: Stem Changers in the Preterite Tense.Quiz: Different Yo Forms in the Preterite Tense.Different Yo Forms in the Preterite Tense.Quiz: Regular Verbs in the Preterite Tense.Quiz Indirect Objects and Indirect Object Pronouns.Indirect Objects and Indirect Object Pronouns.Quiz: Direct Objects and Direct Object Pronouns.Direct Objects and Direct Object Pronouns.Quiz: Using the Right Pronoun to Answer a Question.Using the Right Pronoun to Answer a Question.Quiz: Interrogative Pronouns (Question Words).Interrogative Pronouns (Question Words).Stem-Changing Verbs in the Present Tense.Quiz: Common Verbs Irregular in the Present Tense.Common Verbs Irregular in the Present Tense. ![]() Quiz: Confusing Verbs: Determining which Verb to Use.Confusing Verbs: Determining Which Verb to Use.Quiz: Stem-Changing Verbs in the Present Tense.Quiz: Regular Verbs in the Present Tense.
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