A Closer Look: Definition of Double Negative

A double negative may be perhaps one of the most glaring grammar mistakes of all. Few grammatical errors can confuse the meaning of a sentence more quickly than the use of a double negative. Read this article to understand the definition of a double negative, lest you make a grammatical error that could result in you accidentally saying yes to something that you would prefer to say a definitive “no” to.

The word double is defined as two combined, having two of one kind, or being of two kinds. The word negative is defined as containing or expressing a denial or refusal, or the opposite of something positive. When you put these two definitions together, you get the meaning of a double negative. In essence, a double negative means that you have two negatives.

In grammar, a double negative occurs when two words with negative connotations are used. Just as in math, two negatives can add together to create a positive. Thus, the meaning of your words can become grossly distorted when you use a double negative. This means that your sentence can convey the exact opposite of what you wanted it to, as your negatives cancel each other out.

Look at the following sentence:

• “I don’t have no idea.” 

In this sentence, you have two negative words: “don’t” and “no.” Each of these negative words is used to express the idea that you are replying in the opposite of the affirmative. However, since you use them both together, you are saying that you do not have NO idea. If NO idea is something you DON’T have, then by definition you must have some idea.

In other words, in trying to express your cluelessness about the topic, you have instead stated that you do have an idea after all. This can be bad news if someone was asking you an important question.  After all, if the pilot is about to hand you the controls to the plane and you accidentally tell him you have some idea of how to fly a plane when you don’t, you may be in very serious trouble!

Avoiding Double Negatives

You can avoid double negatives by looking at your sentences carefully and identifying words that signify a negative connotation. If for example, if you said “I hardly have no money, the two negatives in that sentence are hardly and no. If you hardly have no money, that means that you often have some money. Better be careful with this one, or you may end up treating for dinner!

The general rule, then, is that each independent clause can only have one negative. A clause contains a subject, a verb and expresses a complete thought. Although multiple negative clauses can be combined- for example, I don’t have any idea and I don’t want to know- each of the individual clauses must contain only one negative word (in this case “don’t” is the negative in both clauses).

Identifying Double Negatives

The best way to identify double negatives is to practice. Read the following paragraph and identify all of the examples of negative words. This should help give you an idea of exactly which sentences contain double negatives and which don’t.

My friend was arriving late from the airport. She didn’t have no idea what time she was coming. I couldn’t hardly wait to see her. She did not arrive not late. I could not hardly contain my excitement when I saw her for the first time. Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite not remember where I’d parked. 

Answer

The above paragraph contains a whole mess of double negatives. In the second sentence, didn’t and no are both negative words. In the third sentence, couldn’t and hardly are both negatives. In the fourth, not and not are both negatives. In the next sentence, could not and hardly are both negatives. Finally, in the last sentence, couldn’t and not are both negative. 

The paragraph, instead, should read

My friend was arriving late from the airport. She didn’t have any idea what time she was coming. I could hardly wait to see her. She did not arrive late. I could hardly contain my excitement when I saw her for the first time. Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite remember where I’d parked. 

Now you’ve resolved all the double negative problems and should have a good idea of what double negatives are. Don’t not remember this!