Two Negatives, One Big Problem
Grammar: Double negatives — standard vs non-standard use
A Level 4 English lesson exploring media.
What's in this lesson
A Level 4 (upper intermediate) ESL lesson on media, practising double negatives — standard vs non-standard use. The worksheet has a reading, target vocabulary, a grammar reference with practice and discussion questions.
From the reading: Two Negatives, One Big Problem
In 1987, the American linguist Robin Lakoff made an observation that stopped her students in their tracks: double negatives, she noted, are not simply wrong — they are a window into how language really works. 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. But in dozens of spoken dialects — from African American Vernacular English to working-class London speech — the same sentence is used, without any confusion, to mean the opposite: I know nothing at all. Nobody misunderstands. So who is actually wrong?
Vocabulary
- advanced
- high-status
- regular
- superior
- became
- cancel
- carry
- stopped
- used
Grammar: Double Negatives
- Standard rule
- She doesn't know anything about the case. — one negative per clause in formal English
- Rhetorical double
- This is not without risk. ✓ — formal understatement; softens a direct claim
Discussion questions
- Do you ever correct how someone speaks — a friend, a colleague, a family member?
- Which sounds more natural to you: 'I don't know anything' or 'I don't know nothing'?
- Should schools teach only one 'correct' form of a language?
Two Negatives, One Big Problem
Grammar: Double negatives — standard vs non-standard use
What's in this lesson:
Full lesson plan with reading, grammar, vocabulary, and discussion.
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