Double Negative: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know what a double negative is? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on double negatives, including its definition, usage, example sentences, and more!

Your writing, at its best

Compose bold, clear, mistake-free, writing with Grammarly's AI-powered writing assistant

Start writing

What is a double negative?

According to Your Dictionary, a double negative is when someone uses two negative words in the same sentence. Like in math, two negatives turn the thought or sentence into a positive or affirmative meaning. However, this is rarely the intended meaning. These are considered poor grammar or improper grammar but are often used in casual speech or informal speech, as well as song lyrics. Standard English dialects state that this is improper grammar, but as with any misused part of speech – adverbs, adjectives, pronouns, prepositions, commas, litotes, and more – while grammarians may turn their nose up at a double negation, they are often used in casual speech, Southern American English, and other dialects like the African American Vernacular English.

This is referenced by The Friar from the Ellesmere Manuscript of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. In the tale, Chaucer writes “Ther nas no man nowher so vertuous” (“There never was no man nowhere so virtuous”). English teachers would not like students using this in standard modern English, and prefer a single negative. This created the force of a weak positive statement instead of the negative force created by a single negation, and this figure of speech is confusing. This was standard use of someone with educated speech through the time of Shakespeare, when it was not associated with formal logic. It was used in Twelfth Night.

According to MOCA, Double Negative is also a work of land art by the artist Michael Heizer. It is located in the Moapa Valley on Mormon Mesa Road near Overton, Nevada. This artwork is made of sandstone. It uses negative space or empty space to make sculpture art and is difficult to find on Google Maps due to trenches. Admission to Double Negative by artist Michael Heizer is always free but to get there,  allow seven hours for travel from Los Angeles and please note the last 45 minutes is on dirt roads. You must do the following:

  • From Los Angeles, take the highways Interstate 15 North past Las Vegas to Route 169 (exit #93) to Overton.
  • Once on Overton, turn left onto Cooper Street, which leads to the Overton Airport. This will be a sharp left shortly after the Maverick Gas Station, Moapa Valley Community Center and Las Vegas Met. Police Station (on left) and the Post Office (on right).
  • Continue on Cooper Street to turn right on Airport Road.
  • Proceed up the road to the top of the Western edge of the mesa. This will turn into a dirt road. When you reach the top of the mesa, note mileage and continue straight across the mesa.
  • The road runs to the north, parallel to the eastern edge of the mesa where Double Negative is located (overlooking the Virgin River). Proceed carefully. Pass the first two notches in the mesa and a small U.S. Dept. of the Interior/Bureau of Land Management marker at right. Double Negative is located in the third notch.
  • After traveling 1.3 miles, you will come to a fork, which leads to each cut of Double Negative. Bear right to the south cut. The left fork leads to the North cut.
  • Allow at least a half hour before sunset to start leaving Double Negative as retracing your steps can be confusing. Go out to the main dirt road, turn right and go back down the mesa. Four wheel drive is highly recommended to traverse the terrain leading to the site.

What are examples of double negatives?

A double negative can be used in many different contexts in the English language. Trying to use a word or literary technique in a sentence is one of the best ways to memorize what it is, but you can also try making flashcards or quizzes that test your knowledge. Try using this term of the day in a sentence today! Below are a couple of examples of double negative that can help get you started incorporating this tool into your everyday use.  Take a look at the following sentences of double negative examples of sentences from Your Dictionary and see how many you can identify the double negative in!

  • The hospital won’t allow no more visitors.
  •  I don’t have nobody to mow my lawn.
  •  There aren’t no presents left to open.
  •  You can’t tell me nothing – “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” Kanye West
  •  It wasn’t hardly midnight when we saw the meteor shower. 
  •  I can’t get no sleep – “Insomnia,” Faithless
  •  I can’t find my keys nowhere.
  •  The star couldn’t sing no more after the matinee performance.
  •  She never goes with nobody.
  •  Nobody with any sense isn’t going.
  •  It is not unlikely that the bill passes.
  •  I don’t belong to no one – “Dream Attack,” New Order
  •  I don’t hope it doesn’t rain today, as in that unlikely event my belongings will get wet.
  •  It was a scarcely uncommon sight for someone to get a permanent ban.
  •  The results are not inconclusive.
  •  She was an often frequent visitor of Twitter.
  •  The price of the car is not insignificant.
  •  The infrequent visitor didn’t never come back after he attained fame.
  •  That won’t do you no good.
  •  This workload isn’t simply too much for me to handle.
  •  All the witnesses claimed that didn’t see nothing.
  •  We don’t need no education – “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2,” Pink Floyd
  •  It is not unnecessary to tell the truth all the time.
  •  The evidence is certainly not irrefutable.
  •  There ain’t no rest for the wicked – “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” Cage the Elephant
  •  Tom doesn’t go there seldom since his bad experience.
  •  Ain’t no mountain high enough – “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
  •  Got nothing to hide no more – “Shape of My Heart,” Backstreet Boys
  •  There is no way you can do nothing about this.
  •  John says he has not seen neither Alice or Susan all day.
  •  Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone – Ain’t No Sunshine,” Bill Withers
  •  This gem is not uncommon.
  •  Never wanted nothing more – “Never Wanted Nothing More,” Kenny Chesney
  •  The Southeast had scarcely no rain last year.
  •  He did not mention neither the deposit nor the rate.
  •  He doesn’t have nothing but the clothes on his back.
  •  Ain’t no other man on the planet does what you do – “Ain’t No Other Man,” Christina Aguilera
  •  His rebuttal was clearly not nonsensical.
  •  I can’t get no satisfaction – “Satisfaction,” The Rolling Stones
  •  The pilot can’t find no place to land.
  •  The new disease wasn’t non-infectious.
  •  It wouldn’t be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl – “It’s a Man’s World,” James Brown
  •  He ain’t never told no lies.
  •  You shouldn’t do nothing to the house.
  •  That attitude won’t get you nowhere.
  •  It ain’t right to not paint the house.
  •  And there ain’t nothin’ in this world for free – “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” Cage the Elephant
  •  That outfit can’t simply do for such a formal affair.
  •  He wasn’t irresponsible about his duties.
  •  You can’t see no one in this crowd.
  •  We haven’t never seen a tornado that big.
  •  I hardly have no money.
  •  She did not barely understand the instructions.
  •   We don’t watch movies seldom.
  •  He is not rarely a visitor at the park.
  •  The mistress of her heart didn’t make no unjust decision.
  •  I can’t barely see where I am going in this fog.
  •  I ain’t got no time for supper.
  •  The secret cave didn’t have none of the treasures they wanted.
  •  I wasn’t looking for nobody when you looked my way – “Don’t Stop the Music,” Rihanna
  •  I didn’t steal nothing.
  •  The jazz singer didn’t never learn how to play the viola, and cracked under pressure then her political opponents like President Reagan invited her to play.
  •  After the nose job, she didn’t want no one to see her.
  •  The news of the company’s bankruptcy made scarcely no impact.
  •  Tom wasn’t rarely present at openings.
  •  My forbidden lover, I don’t want no other – “My Forbidden Lover,” Chic

Overall, a double negative is considered improper English grammar. Using a negative pronoun, negative prefix or a second negative where there should not be one is poor syntactic construction and can lead to the passive voice as well as confusion. This is often used in spoken English. A common double negative and sneaky double negatives are not a form of negative reinforcement or effective construction. Thile they enforce a folksy note, if you are following the truism of traditional grammar, use a separate phrase when writing dialogue to clarify an affirmative statement or an equivalent sentence in a convention of standard English. Negative statements and negative phrases in a double-negative sentence nullify and confuse, and are nonstandard speech.

Sources:

  1. Glossary of grammatical terms | OED 
  2. Double Negative • MOCA Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art
  3. Examples of Double Negatives: From Sentences to Lyrics | Your Dictionary 
mm

Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.

Recent Posts

Amen Meaning

Amen Meaning: Here’s What It Means and How To Use It

Gentrification Meaning

Gentrification Meaning: Here’s What It Means and How To Use It

Blasphemy Meaning

Blasphemy Meaning: Here’s What It Means and How To Use It

AOC Meaning: Here’s What It Means and How To Use It