A Double Negative Is Not Always UnOK

A Double Negative Is Not Always UnOK A Double Negative Is Not Always UnOK A Double Negative Is Not Always UnOK By Maeve Maddox The grammatical rule against double negatives applies to sentences that combine not with no or with other negatives such as hardly, nobody, nothing, never, and nowhere: I can’t hardly see through these glasses. He didn’t meet nobody on the mountain. They never lied about nothing. On the other hand, double negatives formed with not followed by a word that begins with a negative prefix like un- or ir- are permissible in formal English. This type of double negative is a stylistic device of understatement, a type of litotes: a figure of speech in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary. Its use can convey a subtle difference in meaning that saying the same thing without not wouldn’t. Some speakers who object to the â€Å"not un-† construction seem to believe that there’s a rule against it. This belief is bolstered by the often quoted example made up by George Orwell: The not unblack dog chased the not unbrown cow across the not ungreen field. Orwell’s sentence is amusing, but simplistic. No English speaker is going to try to plant an un- on adjectives like black and green. Many English speakers, however, will use the â€Å"not un-† construction to achieve a nuanced meaning with adjectives like justifiable, intelligent, and convinced. The following statements are not identical in meaning: I am convinced by his argument. I am not unconvinced by his argument. A note at the online Oxford Dictionaries site points out the difference: The use of  not  together with unconvinced suggests that the speaker has a few mental reservations about the argument. Writing in 1926, H. W. Fowler (Modern English Usage) regarded the â€Å"not un-† usage as â€Å"a faded or jaded elegance.† He condemns the unnecessary use of the construction, but recognizes that this form of litotes is â€Å"congenial to the English temperament† and that there are contexts in which its use is suitable. He concludes, â€Å"The right principle is to acknowledge that the idiom is allowable, and then to avoid it except when it is more than allowable.† The construction is often used unnecessarily, but sometimes it expresses a thought in a way that the positive form would not. The following examples are probably â€Å"allowable† uses: Arthur Ransome’s book is a  not unsuccessful  attempt to provide an introduction to the criticism of types of fiction.   - The reviewer does not like the book, but acknowledges that some readers may learn something from it. Sabina Franklyn is a sweet, pretty Jane,  not unintelligent but  less of a presence than her lively sister. - The character Jane is not a stupid person, but her intelligence is not a key feature of her personality the way it is for her sister. A  musty but not unpleasant  odor came from inside, together with a blast of pent-up heat. - The odor cannot be described as pleasant, but it is not repugnant either. However, the â€Å"not un† construction is frequently used without justification, as in the following examples: Surprises will come to be outnumbered by cringes, as the not unappealing Patton finds herself sold short by a director. - In the context of the review, there’s nothing to suggest that Patton is anything but appealing. While not unentertaining, there is very little of this film that is astounding.   - In the context of the article, the reviewer seems to feel that the film is entertaining. Some reviewers, perhaps not quite understanding the device, go all to pieces in their attempts to make use of it: Jessica Biel is  not unconvincing  as a love interest,  but  shes  not  entirely convincing.   But theres something uniquely dis-appealing about Don Jon. Not unappealing, not immediately repulsive. More like simply not-appealing. The â€Å"not un-† construction has a long history in English and remains a valid stylistic choice for writers who understand how and when to use it. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely?Select vs. SelectedHow Do You Fare?

Virginia umemployment analysis essays

Virginia umemployment analysis essays The economic situation differs from country to country, caused by difference in population, geography, monetary system, political situation and a lot of other factors. But even within one country there are always a number of regions that differ from one another by their economic performance. This situation is especially true for big countries like US. If the regions are too broadly defined, the economic diversity would be lost. If the regions are too narrowly defined, they are not likely to have any viability as economic entities, and this circumstance will increase the problem of developing good regional economic data pertinent to the individual regions. Economic indicators like income, employment and population may differ in the rural and urban areas of a single region, but the growth of the region still depends on the economic performance of the region as a whole, and especially the towns and cities. An input-output model is very useful of measuring regional economic activity. Such a model effectively determines the impact of one economic variable on another can be used to analyze expected growth. The measure of regional economic indicators and comparing them to national could produce a good estimate of economic performance of a region. The regional economic model in case of the region within US could be compared with the model of a small country. And national model could be seen as an aggregation of many interrelated regional models. This paper includes an estimation of the regional economic model The model is an attempt to estimate possible relationship within economic indicators. This paper also presents an analysis of regional economic indicators and national economic indicators in order to compare economic performance of the region and national economy as a whole. This model use annual national and state level data to produce regional estimates of income, employment, wages, population, labor force and the unemploym...

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Discussion - Essay Example Ethics on the other hand forms the framework that acts as moral guidelines. Ethics is much more subjective and although it also establishes sets of normative codes of conduct, these codes are heterogeneous due to their subjective origins. If however, we assume Ethics to set the standards of social conduct and moral judgment then ideally, laws should enforce these (Blackburn, 2003). The importance of Ethics in spite of many laws arises precisely from the fact that finer ethical considerations and morality are often beyond the defined conducts that the limited scope of Laws are able to enforce. The necessity of ethical consideration irrespective of the legal framework of any nation can be best understood by considering historical instances where Laws were in conflict or at least not in support of what is now understood to be ethical. Until the 13th amendment of 1865 revised the Law, slavery was entirely a legal practice in the U.S.A. Prior to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938; child labor was a legal practice as well. African American people had very little civil rights and when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger on Dec. 1, 1955 she violated the law (Townsend, 1998). It is in the present day almost surprising to note that women were accorded voting rights only in 1920. Such instances of something considered legal in the past later being rectified, reflect that Laws may not always be aligned with what is ethically right and the adjustment can be a time consuming process. Instances of legal binds being constraining from the perspective of ethical actions and decision making is certainly not a matter of only the past. In present days also, issues like Abortion and Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide leads to a debate due to the inherent conflict between the associated laws and ethical