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Letters A letter is a mark or character used to represent an articula... English Language The English language is the tongue now current in Engla... Harmony Harmony is that property of style which gives a smoothness to... Present Tense Sing. Plural ... Notes Of Introduction Notes of introduction should be very circumspect as the write... First Personal Pronoun The use of the first personal pronoun should be avoided as mu... Suggestions Rules of grammar and rhetoric are good in their own pla... Capital Letters Capital letters are used to give emphasis to or call attentio...

DOUBLE NEGATIVE

Common Stumbling Blocks - Peculiar Constructions - Misused Forms. It must be remembered that two negatives in the English language destroy each other and are equivalent to an affirmative. Thus "I don't know nothing about it" is intended to convey, that I am ignorant of the matter under consideration, but it defeats its own purpose, inasmuch as the use of nothing implies that I know something about it. The sentence should read--"I don't know anything about it." Often we hear such expressions as "He was not asked to give no opinion," expressing the very opposite of what is intended. This sentence implies that he was asked to give his opinion. The double negative, therefore, should be carefully avoided, for it is insidious and is liable to slip in and the writer remain unconscious of its presence until the eye of the critic detects it. Next: FIRST PERSONAL PRONOUN Previous: BROKEN CONSTRUCTION Report Privacy SHARE ADD TO EBOOK

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