Adventures in English: Episode Two

Have you been worried about our comic strip hero Wary Harry? Fear not, the Adventures in English comic strip series is back! If you missed the last episode, click here to discover what happened to Wary Harry in his first quest.

Kaplan's Adventures in English series is brought to you in collaboration with Pablo Stanley. Pablo is a popular graphic designer and illustrator. You may have already seen some of his other work. Discover more about Pablo and his inspirations in our interview with him.

This episode focuses on double negatives. Keep reading this blog post after the comic strip for more examples of double negatives.

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What is a Double Negative?

A double negative uses two negative words in the same clause to express a single negative idea. Often double negatives mean the opposite of what you are trying to say:

We didn't do nothing. = We did nothing.

You should mostly avoid using double negatives as they often indicate a poor choice of words. Sometimes it is better to use a single negative instead:

We didn’t do anything.

Here are some more examples of double negatives and poor word choices:

• It wasn't uninteresting.
• He is not unattractive.
• I can't get no satisfaction.

What is a Triple Negative?

Triple negatives are very rare but can be heard in regional dialects. Here is an example:

I ain't never heard of no licence.

What are your experiences with double negatives? Do you ever use them in conversation? Leave a comment below with your examples.