OMG! I didn't do nothin'!

[[-]Battery[+]]

Firstly, I'd like to apologise for my use of terrible grammar in the title. -Cries-
I just thought about putting this in, although I'm not 100% sure why.

I really can't stand it when people use double negatives, if that's the right phrase to describe it.
Example: I didn't do nothin'!

This is usually used when someone means to say: I didn't do that. But, the problem is, they are basically saying, it seems, that they did do something.

Say what you mean people!  

[Masamune no Hi]

I said something about that around here before. It is very annoying when people use double negatives.  

[Roguemagus]

You won't believe this, but in Spanish, the double negative is grammatically CORRECT. Seriously.  

[Azraelalpha]

Roguemagus

You won't believe this, but in Spanish, the double negative is grammatically CORRECT. Seriously.

Well, maybe not as far as gramatically correct, but gramatically accepted. you must undertand that negative statements in English are very different than those in Spanish. Here, let me give you an example:

English: I didn't do anything!
Spanish: Yo no hice nada!

First off, the main difference here is that "didn't" (which stands for Did Not) refers to the time the action was made AND it also defines wether it is a positive or negative action, and it is not the action itself.

In Spanish, the negative action is described by the word "no". the action itself is in reality the word "hice", which is a first person verb for the word "hacer", which means "do" in English, in a past tense.

Can anyone here tell me if I'm right or wrong? at least this is what I remember from my Spanish/English lessons in school, and I must admit, my language skills are not as developed as my father's, anyway.

Edit: I would like to have a set example, if possible, thanks.  

[Shigures Editor]

Roguemagus

You won't believe this, but in Spanish, the double negative is grammatically CORRECT. Seriously.

Really? That's.. strange. But, hey, we should respect their language, right?  

[Buccellatte]

A teacher of mine told my class that when we use double negatives, it's the same as using a positive. I don't think that's true though  

[rae-chan-sensei]

xXSavage NymphXx

A teacher of mine told my class that when we use double negatives, it's the same as using a positive. I don't think that's true though

Well, it's technically true, I suppose. But it's gramatically incorrect. And painful.  

[xBSJGx]

Tiny Clanger

Firstly, I'd like to apologise for my use of terrible grammar in the title. -Cries-
I just thought about putting this in, although I'm not 100% sure why.

I really can't stand it when people use double negatives, if that's the right phrase to describe it.
Example: I didn't do nothin'!

This is usually used when someone means to say: I didn't do that. But, the problem is, they are basically saying, it seems, that they did do something.

Say what you mean people!

That is exactly how I think about that.
If they say "I didnt do nothin", its like "I did do something."
Its like the opposite.
I never say that.
I say, "I didn't do anything", and it sounds better anyways.  

[xBSJGx]

Roguemagus

You won't believe this, but in Spanish, the double negative is grammatically CORRECT. Seriously.

Like: "No, no me gusta.." for example.
Is that what you mean?  

[xAvenirYuinax]

Double negatives bother me immensely. However, in class when the trouble makers say stuff like "I didn't do nothing, Sir!" I just laugh. I'm sorry, but talking like does a better job of making you seem guilty of something, rather than being innocent. -sigh-  

[Ellis Bell Esq.]

rae-chan-sensei

xXSavage NymphXx

A teacher of mine told my class that when we use double negatives, it's the same as using a positive. I don't think that's true though

Well, it's technically true, I suppose. But it's gramatically incorrect. And painful.

Actually, I beg to differ, as long as the person using the double negative is 1) doing it on purpose and 2) doing it correctly.

E.g.
Mom: What did you do in school today?
Me: Well, I didn't do nothing, obviously.
Mom: That's new.

But for those "I DIDN'T DO NUTHIN!"s, I consider it a Freudian slip. cool  

[John_Risi]

Tiny Clanger

Firstly, I'd like to apologise for my use of terrible grammar in the title. -Cries-
I just thought about putting this in, although I'm not 100% sure why.

I really can't stand it when people use double negatives, if that's the right phrase to describe it.
Example: I didn't do nothin'!

This is usually used when someone means to say: I didn't do that. But, the problem is, they are basically saying, it seems, that they did do something.

Say what you mean people!

Wouldn't you also add an at all to the sentance 'I didn't do nothin'!`so it would be I did not do nothing at all.  

[John_Risi]

Ellis Bell Esq.

rae-chan-sensei

xXSavage NymphXx

A teacher of mine told my class that when we use double negatives, it's the same as using a positive. I don't think that's true though

Well, it's technically true, I suppose. But it's gramatically incorrect. And painful.

Actually, I beg to differ, as long as the person using the double negative is 1) doing it on purpose and 2) doing it correctly.

E.g.
Mom: What did you do in school today?
Me: Well, I didn't do nothing, obviously.
Mom: That's new.

But for those "I DIDN'T DO NUTHIN!"s, I consider it a Freudian slip. cool

*laughs* If you talk like that no wonder they did not do anything in school. cool  

[rae-chan-sensei]

Ellis Bell Esq.

rae-chan-sensei

xXSavage NymphXx

A teacher of mine told my class that when we use double negatives, it's the same as using a positive. I don't think that's true though

Well, it's technically true, I suppose. But it's gramatically incorrect. And painful.

Actually, I beg to differ, as long as the person using the double negative is 1) doing it on purpose and 2) doing it correctly.

E.g.
Mom: What did you do in school today?
Me: Well, I didn't do nothing, obviously.
Mom: That's new.

But for those "I DIDN'T DO NUTHIN!"s, I consider it a Freudian slip. cool

As to the technically true... I meant the whole "two negatives equal a positive" thing from math class...

As to the grammatical truth, I was refering to the thread title types of situations as being incorrect and painful. The situation you used is obviously correct, but I don't think that those are what the thread was originally talking about.

So the double negative is correct for certain situations, and incorrect for certain situations. 3nodding  

[[-]Battery[+]]

I laugh too, actually. I do wish I could say something casually when people say this that makes them realise how stupid they are in grammatical terms.
Also, I love using endless negatives, so many infact that it confuses people. For example:

You are not not not not not not etc. [repeated an odd number of times] wonderful/beautiful/compliment etc.

Using a large, odd number of negatives confuses the person, and so they can't tell if you're complimenting them or insulting them. Heh heh heh. twisted

My evil back up trick.