Double Negatives

English has two kinds of double negatives. I’ll call them incorrect and correct. Maybe we could call the incorrect type of double negative “low class,” and the correct double negative “polite” or “high falootin’.”

Here’s a couple incorrect usages:

• I don’t got no money.
• There ain’t no place we can hide
• You shouldn’t use no bad grammar

Examples of correct usage:

• Polite double negatives are not infrequently found in older conversations.
• I’m not unopposed to going to the opera with you
• He is not unlike his brother
• I’m not indifferent to bad grammar

And then there’s overkill, as demonstrated in this cartoon, which I’m posting because of the grammar, not because of the politics.

I counted six negatives in that one.