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 #2 (permalink) Thu Jun 26, 2008 11:09 am I could not do nothing. |
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| OK in spoken English, I think, such as I ain't know nothin! |
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Haihao
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 2471
Location: Japan
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| #3 (permalink) Thu Jun 26, 2008 14:25 pm I could not do nothing. |
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They each require the right context.
1. You're a hero! You saved the drowning child at great risk to yourself. "Oh, I had to help! When I saw her out there, I knew that I could not [stand idly by] and do nothing to help."
2. You're a jerk. We all worked our butts off on this project and you did nothing to help us. "Hey! That's not true! I did not do nothing! I brought bagels to the team meetings."
3. Same thing, except instead of being told "and you did nothing to help us" it's "and you didn't do anything to help us."
I would say that #1 could work in writing, but #2 and #3 really will be far more likely in a spoken context. |
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Barb_D
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 13 Jun 2008
Posts: 474
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| #4 (permalink) Thu Jun 26, 2008 14:48 pm I could not do nothing. |
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| Molly wrote: |
Are these sentence OK?
1. I could not do nothing.
2. I did not do nothing.
3. I did not not do anything. |
Yes, the three sentences after the first one are OK. ;)
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_________________
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." ~ Abraham Lincoln |
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Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8316
Location: USA
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| #5 (permalink) Thu Jun 26, 2008 22:13 pm I could not do nothing. |
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| Thanks Barb and Haihao. |
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Molly
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 12 Feb 2008
Posts: 4017
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| Usage of "need to be" | Usage of "as beaten up" |
