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Double negatives are two negative words used in the same sentence. Using two negatives turns the thought or sentence into a positive one. Double negatives are not encouraged in English because they are poor grammar and they can be confusing; but, they are sometimes used in song lyrics and informal speech.

Double Negative Examples

• That won’t do you no good.
• I ain’t got no time for supper.
• Nobody with any sense isn’t going.
• I can’t find my keys nowhere.
• She never goes with nobody.
• John says he has not seen neither Alice or Susan all day.
• You can’t see no one in this crowd.
• There aren’t no presents left to open.
• The secret cave did not have none of the treasures they wanted.
• All the witnesses claimed that didn’t see nothing.
• The pilot can’t find no place to land.
• He did not mention neither the deposit nor the rate.
• There is no way you can do nothing about this.
• He doesn’t have nothing but the clothes on his back.
• We haven’t never seen a tornado that big.
• It ain’t right to not paint the house.
• You shouldn’t do nothing to the house.
• The hospital won’t allow no more visitors.
• I don’t have nobody to mow my lawn.
• That attitude won’t get you nowhere.
• After the nose job, she didn’t want no one to see her.
• The star couldn’t sing no more after the matinee performance.

Double Negatives Using Prefixes

Sometimes a negative can be formed by attaching the prefixes ir-, in-, non- and un-. Here are some examples:

• The evidence is certainly not irrefutable.
• This gem is not uncommon.
• The results are not inconclusive.
• His rebuttal was clearly not nonsensical.
• The price of the car is not insignificant.
• It is not unnecessary to tell the truth all the time.
• The new disease wasn’t non-infectious.
• He wasn’t irresponsible about his duties.

Double Negatives with Negative Words

You can create a double negative by using a negative word with a word that acts like a negative. Here are some examples:

• Barely – I can’t barely see where I am going in this fog.
• Barely – She did not barely understand the instructions.
• Hardly – I hardly have no money.
• Hardly – It wasn’t hardly midnight when we saw the meteor shower.
• Rarely – He is not rarely a visitor at the park.
• Rarely – Tom wasn’t rarely present at openings.
• Scarcely – The news of the company’s bankruptcy made scarcely no impact.
• Scarcely – The Southeast had scarcely no rain last year.
• Seldom – We don’t watch movies seldom.
• Seldom – Tom doesn’t go there seldom since his bad experience.

Double Negatives in Song Lyrics

• I can’t get no satisfaction – The Rolling Stones
• I wasn’t looking for nobody when you looked my way – Rihanna
• We don’t need no education – Pink Floyd
• I can’t get no sleep – Faithless
• Got nothing to hide no more – Backstreet Boys
• There ain’t no rest for the wicked – Cage the Elephant
• And there ain’t nothin’ in this world for free – Cage the Elephant
• My forbidden lover, I don’t want no other – Chic
• Ain’t no mountain high enough – Marvin Gaye
• Never wanted nothing more – Kenny Chesney

To see more double negatives, check out Double Negative Trouble.