Avoiding Double Negatives

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Lesson 7

• Avoiding Double Negatives

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Avoiding Double Negatives

• A negative word is a word that says no.

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Avoiding Double Negatives

• A negative word is a word that says no.
• Contractions that end in nt are negative
  words.

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Avoiding Double Negatives

• A negative word is a word that says no.
• Contractions that end in nt are negative
  words.
• Remember, nt means not.

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Avoiding Double Negatives

• A negative word is a word that says no.
• Contractions that end in nt are negative
  words.
• Remember, nt means not.
• A word like cant means cannot.

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Avoiding Double Negatives
Common Negative Words Common Negative Words Common Negative Words Common Negative Words
barely neither nobody nothing
hardly never none nowhere
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Avoiding Double Negatives

• If two negative words are used together, the
  result is a double negative.
• Avoid double negatives in speaking and writing.

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Avoiding Double Negatives

• INCORRECT
• I dont want no slackers on this hike.
•  
• CORRECT
• I dont want any slackers on this hike.
• I want no slackers on this hike.

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Why It Matters in Writing

• Some writers accidentally create a double
  negative when they try to make a strong negative
  statement.
• However, a double negative makes a writer sound
  careless.

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Why It Matters in Writing

• Student Model
•  The largest cactus in North America is the
  saguaro. It
• doesnt  grow nowhere but in the deserts of
  southern
• Arizona, anywhere southeastern California, and
• northwestern Mexico. Saguaros dont hardly
  need
• no water to survive. It almost doesnt never need
  
• hardly any rains where saguaros live, but these
  plants
• can store water in their stems for a long time.

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Why It Matters in Writing

• The largest cactus in North America is the
  saguaro. It doesnt grow nowhere but in the
  desert of
• anywhere
• southern Arizona, southeastern California,
  and northwestern Mexico. Saguaros dont hardly
  need no water to survive.
• need hardly any

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Why It Matters in Writing

• The largest cactus in North America is the
  saguaro. It doesnt grow nowhere but in the
  desert of
• anywhere
• southern Arizona, southeastern California,
  and northwestern Mexico. Saguaros dont hardly
  need no water to survive. need
  hardly any
• It almost doesnt never rains where saguaros
  live,
• but these plants can store water in their
  stems for a long time.

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Why It Matters in Writing

• The largest cactus in North America is the
• saguaro. It doesnt grow nowhere (anywhere)
• but in the deserts of Arizona, southern
• California, and northwestern New Mexico.
• Saguaros dont hardly need no (need hardly
• any)water to survive. It almost doesnt never
• need hardly any rains where saguaros live, but
• these plants can store water in  their stems for
  a
• long time.