The Grammar of Nothing: Double Negatives
Grammar: Double negatives — standard, rhetorical, and non-standard uses
A Level 6 English lesson exploring media.
What's in this lesson
A Level 6 (proficiency) ESL lesson on media, practising double negatives — standard, rhetorical, and non-standard uses. The worksheet has a reading, target vocabulary and discussion questions.
From the reading: The Grammar of Nothing: Double Negatives
There is a sentence that stops linguists dead in their tracks: I can't get no satisfaction. Grammatically, by the rules of standard written English, it means the opposite of what Mick Jagger intended — a man who is, apparently, doing just fine. And yet nobody in 1965 heard it that way. The Rolling Stones did not confuse a single listener. What that song revealed, without meaning to, is that the rules of negation in English are far stranger and more contested than any grammar textbook would have you believe.
Vocabulary
- as
- for
- from
- contested
- deployed
- promoted
- revealed
- used
Discussion questions
- Can a grammatical rule be wrong?
- Do you ever use different grammar when you speak versus when you write?
- Which language do you think has the most logical grammar — and why?
The Grammar of Nothing: Double Negatives
Grammar: Double negatives — standard, rhetorical, and non-standard uses
What's in this lesson:
Full lesson plan with reading, grammar, vocabulary, and discussion.
Sign up to access full lesson plans
Start with a free trial — 5 lesson generations included
Get Started Free