Negative Words and Double Negatives

In English, we do not always need the word not to make a sentence negative. We can use other negative words, such as negative pronouns, adverbs, or determiners.

However, when we use these words, we must follow the rule against double negatives.

1. Forming Negatives with Negative Words

When using a negative word, the verb in the sentence must remain in its positive form. Placing a negative word with a negative verb is grammatically incorrect.

A. Negative Pronouns & Determiners (no, none, nothing, nobody, no one)

  • Positive Verb + Negative Word: I have no money.

  • Negative Verb + Positive Word: I don’t have any money.

  • Incorrect: I don’t have no money. (Double negative).

  • Correct: She said nothing. / She didn’t say anything.

  • Incorrect: She didn’t say nothing.

B. Negative Adverbs (never, nowhere)

  • Correct: I never watch horror movies. / I don’t ever watch horror movies.
  • Incorrect: I don’t never watch horror movies.

2. Semi-Negatives (Hardly, Barely, Scarcely, Seldom, Rarely)

Certain adverbs have a negative meaning even though they do not look negative. They mean “almost not” or “almost never.” Because they carry a negative meaning, they cannot be paired with a negative verb.

  • Correct: I could hardly breathe. (Meaning: It was almost impossible to breathe).
  • Incorrect: I couldn’t hardly breathe.
  • Correct: They seldom visit us. (Meaning: They almost never visit us).
  • Incorrect: They don’t seldom visit us.

3. The Rule Against Double Negatives

A double negative occurs when two negative elements are used in the same clause. In standard English, double negatives are considered grammatically incorrect because they logically cancel each other out to make a positive meaning.

  • Formula: Negative Verb + Negative Word = Positive Meaning / Incorrect Grammar

Let’s look at how to correct double negatives:

Incorrect Double NegativeCorrect Alternative A (Positive Verb)Correct Alternative B (Negative Verb)
I don’t know nobody.I know nobody.I don’t know anybody.
We didn’t go nowhere.We went nowhere.We didn’t go anywhere.
She doesn’t have nothing.She has nothing.She doesn’t have anything.

This completes our module on Negative Sentences. Next, we will start a new module on Questions to learn how to request information using proper grammatical inversions.