Lesson 7
Avoiding Double
Negatives
Avoiding Double Negatives
A negative word is a word that says
“no.”
Avoiding Double Negatives
A negative word is a word that says
“no.”
Contractions that end in n’t are
negative words.
Avoiding Double Negatives
A negative word is a word that says
“no.”
Contractions that end in n’t are
negative words.
Remember, n’t means not.
Avoiding Double Negatives
A negative word is a word that says
“no.”
Contractions that end in n’t are
negative words.
Remember, n’t means not.
A word like can’t means “cannot.”
Avoiding Double Negatives
Common Negative Words
barely
neither
nobody
nothing
hardly
never
none
nowhere
Avoiding Double Negatives
If two negative words are used
together, the result is a double
negative.
Avoid double negatives in
speaking and writing.
Avoiding Double Negatives
INCORRECT
I don’t want no slackers on this hike.
CORRECT
I don’t want any slackers on this hike.
I want no slackers on this hike.
Why It Matters in Writing
Some writers accidentally create a
double negative when they try to
make a strong negative statement.
However, a double negative makes a
writer sound careless.
Why It Matters in Writing
Student Model
The largest cactus in North America is the saguaro. It
doesn’t grow nowhere but in the deserts of southern
Arizona, anywhere southeastern California, and
northwestern Mexico. Saguaros don’t hardly need
no water to survive. It almost doesn’t never need
hardly any rains where saguaros live, but these plants
can store water in their stems for a long time.
Why It Matters in Writing
The largest cactus in North America is the saguaro.
It doesn’t grow nowhere but in the desert of
anywhere
southern Arizona, southeastern California, and
northwestern Mexico. Saguaros don’t hardly
need no water to survive.
need hardly any
Why It Matters in Writing
The largest cactus in North America is the saguaro. It doesn’t grow
nowhere but in the desert of
anywhere
southern Arizona, southeastern California, and northwestern
Saguaros don’t hardly need no water to
survive.
need hardly any
It almost doesn’t never rains where saguaros live,
but these plants can store water in their stems
for a long time.
Mexico.
Why It Matters in Writing
The largest cactus in North America is the
saguaro. It doesn’t grow nowhere (anywhere)
but in the deserts of Arizona, southern
California, and northwestern New Mexico.
Saguaros don’t hardly need no (need hardly
any)water to survive. It almost doesn’t never
need hardly any rains where saguaros live, but
these plants can store water in their stems for a
long time.