this post was submitted on 19 Oct 2023
1723 points (98.8% liked)
Programmer Humor
32410 readers
307 users here now
Post funny things about programming here! (Or just rant about your favourite programming language.)
Rules:
- Posts must be relevant to programming, programmers, or computer science.
- No NSFW content.
- Jokes must be in good taste. No hate speech, bigotry, etc.
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
In english a double negative only reinforces the no if i rember correctly
Yes and no. Correct English does not use a double negative, but when it is used it can either reinforce or convey the opposite... which is why we don't use double negatives, it's confusing and language should be clear and precise when used properly.
In english a double negative is a positive, and is syntactically incorrect.
What if someone says "no no" or "no dont". That conveys a negative response despite being two negatives. Granted these aren't proper English or full sentences, but it's something you might say
"No, don't [do that]" is not a double negative, it's just two independent negatives in a row, they don't affect each other. A double negative would be like "don't not do that" which will mean "do not fail to do that" to most people.