Double negative

[Iggyvair]

Anytime I read or somebody says a double negative my brain locks up. I have to read it several times or ask the speaker to repeat it again and again and even with this concentration and repeating I frequently still don't get it. I am wondering if this is part of the Cog fog that people on this forum talk about.

[jimeka]

What exactly is a double negative? 🦋 🍫

[Iggyvair in reply to jimeka]

Example "I didn't see nothing"

[jimeka in reply to Iggyvair]

Sorry I thought that you were referring to results of some tests you had had done and you had had a double negative test, I didn’t know what that was. 🍫

[Peruzzot]

Welcome to my world. Sorry you had to join it. I don't tend to hung up on double negatives though. It's people that start sentences with the word "And". What are you trying to join together? I had an elementary school English teacher who would scold anyone who started a sentence with the word "And". It was her special pet peeve.

[Tinker-Belle in reply to Peruzzot]

Sorry, Peruzzot. I am guilty of doing that and "or" and "but" at the beginning of sentences. I write like my train of thought. I also put way to many "that"s in my sentences. I try to go back and remove them. But.... Just teasing. No, really, I do. 😔

[Peruzzot in reply to Tinker-Belle]

I write a lot of analytical papers and memorandums, I've noticed that I tend to start a lot of sentences with the word "So". That seems to be my hook word or filler word. I'm trying hard not to use it so much but then I struggle to find other words.

[Tinker-Belle in reply to Peruzzot]

Many grammar rules have changed, too. For example, ending a sentence with a preposition. That was a big "no" when I was in school. Starting a sentence with a conjunction is apparently up for debate as well and varies with different schools. I use "so" and "anyway" frequently, too. I found that even punctuation rules changed since I was in school. Oh well. 🤓

[Peruzzot in reply to Tinker-Belle]

I blame texting. People don't know how to write anymore. Then of course there's all those new words that the youngins come up with and we're all just expected to know what the bleep they're talking about.

[Tinker-Belle in reply to Peruzzot]

Very true! Like, "K." Funny. I saw a post once about the acronyms (is that the right word) people with MS could use for texting. It was pretty funny. I will have to see if I can find it.

[Peruzzot in reply to Tinker-Belle]

Please find it. That could be our own MS secret language.😊

[erash in reply to Tinker-Belle]

That's true Tinker-Belle and also depends on whether professional or creative writing (where almost anything goes)

[MS_Indestructible in reply to Tinker-Belle]

I put too many "that"s in my sentences also. Weeding them out helps ~terry

[Tinker-Belle in reply to MS_Indestructible]

I know that. But, how do we do that? Just kidding!!! Wishing you a beautiful day, Terry!

[MS_Indestructible in reply to Tinker-Belle]

awesome, thank you, I could use a good day, depression just "kik"ing me hard this week ~terry

[Tinker-Belle in reply to MS_Indestructible]

I'm sorry. I hope you are able to pull out of it soon. I hope I was also able to help make you smile. 🌼🐝🐶🐒🐰🐹🐞 Silly emoticons. I was looking for one to make me smile and got a little carried away!

[MS_Indestructible in reply to Tinker-Belle]

yes you have, caught myself smiling now

[Tinker-Belle in reply to MS_Indestructible]

Good deal.

[Tinker-Belle]

That's funny. I don't mean when your brain locks up but when they say that because it makes no sense. I have a hard time comprehending when people DO make sense, too, though. I find myself rereading things again and again or saying, "Wait. What?" Ha! Noises or multiple people talking really throws me off, too. I must focus or I miss it. Wishing you a beautiful day!

[Jesmcd2 CommunityAmbassador]

Hi Iggyvair have you talked to your Neuro about this? It might be a good idea.😊

I don't know if this will help you or not, but leave what your trying to read for a minute and then come back to it.😊

It helps me alot.🤗💕

J🌠

Someone else might have other ideas.😊

[Fancy1959]

Iggyvair, it's Fancy1959. Growing up did you have grammar rules and were double negatives like a big No-No? If so it could just be your brain reacting to what was always a big deal in your home and trying to except that somebody else doesn't understand grammar. So it gets so focused on the double negative that it actually just spins its wheels in disbelief. I could be way off base and there could be a lot more to this than meets the eye. Remember we're not doctors and I think Jes had a great idea that you bring it up it's your neurologist on your next visit.

[Iggyvair]

Hi Fancy, I don't know if you are right or wrong but I love your theory.

[Fancy1959 in reply to Iggyvair]

Iggyvair, I had a supervisor on the last job I had that always used or should I say misused the word done. Every time she would say something like I done that, or I done completed those reports, etc., I would mentally cringe inside and silently sit there and disbelief that she was my supervisor! Then she always have the gall to say that she worried about how I spoke around school personnel. It totally amazed me that she had so little grasp of grammar! That one word just showed just how lacking her basic education was! So I truly have first-hand experience dealing with the same type of mental disbelief and sometimes mental brain farts!

[Iggyvair in reply to Fancy1959]

Whenever I hear somebody use the word "done" incorrectly I brush it off as some sort of a strange dialect.

You worked in a school and a supervisor used this. 😱

[agate]

My "field" is (was) English, and I understand that it's really all right to start sentences with words like "And," "But," or "So" now and then--so long as you don't overdo it. You can start a sentence with "Because" if you know what you're doing, as in: "Because I overslept, I was late to work."

In some languages double negatives are entirely acceptable. In fact, the more negatives you an sprinkle into your sentence, the better--just to make sure everyone knows you're negating, I guess. English has a rule about not using double negatives, though, and it can be jarring to your ear if you aren't used to hearing them.

If someone has used a double negative but the person's meaning is clear (and it usually is), why not tell yourself that that person speaks a slightly different version of the language from what you're used to and chalk it up to individual differences? There are parts of the US where double negatives are very common.

[erash]

I avoid double negatives when developing exam questions. Consistently confuses students! 😜

[Babslover]

And sometimes eye hav sum problemz with using commas, eye uze they two munch. My mom was a wonderful teacher in the day. 🤪😂 Hope that was a good comment to your situation. I love humor .

[MS_Indestructible]

this too hangs me up, I have learned to just read it the way it makes most sense to me. If I need to I'll ask for clarification but I try not to do that. ~terry