Double Negatives — Two Negatives, One Big Problem
Grammar: Double negatives — standard vs non-standard use
Free ESL grammar exercise on double negatives themed around two negatives, one big problem. Printable worksheet from classplan.ai.
What's on this worksheet
A Level 4 (upper intermediate) ESL grammar exercise on media, practising double negatives — standard vs non-standard use. The worksheet has a short reading excerpt, a grammar reference and graded practice items.
From the reading
In standard written English, two negative words in one clause cancel each other out and produce a positive meaning. If you say I don't know nothing, the grammar rule says you are claiming you do know something.
Grammar: Double Negatives
- Standard rule
- In formal written English, one negative per clause is required. She doesn't know anything. Use any/anyone/anything after a negative verb.
- Rhetorical double
- In formal writing, a double negative can signal deliberate understatement. This plan is not without risk. ✓ — softer than 'this plan is risky'.
Sample items
- She ______ heard anything about the new school policy on dialect correction.
- There ______ any research suggesting that African American Vernacular English is logically inferior.
- The decision to change the curriculum was ______ without controversy among the teaching staff.
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