英语捷径再来一招！“双重否定词”的用法

双重否定词 (double negatives) 是强调语气和美化语言的一个方法。正确地用双重否定词，让读者和听者觉得说者的英语文笔精湛。难题是，双重否定词是“不正常”的语文结构，要不断地练习才能熟练掌握，自然而然地呼之即出。

请看下面例子：

1. They don’t call economics “the dismal science” for nothing.

 也就是说： Economics IS a dismal science.

2.  It is not that I disagree with what you said; I just think there is a better way to say it.

 等于说： I agree with what you said, but I just think there is a better way to say it.

3. There is no one here who does not believe that helping the down-trodden is what a civilized society must do.

它的意思是：Everyone here believes that helping the down-trodden is what a civilized society must do.

4. Never in a million years would the U.S.A. not veto such a resolution.

意思是：Of course the U.S.A. would veto it.

双重否定词也常被误用。尤其是美国南部黑人的英语，我们常听到这种误用：

1. I didn’t do nothing wrong. 

因为说者的意思是“我没错”，英文应该是 “I didn’t do anything wrong”，

根据英语法“两个否定等于肯定”，上面等于你认错了:

"Yes, I did do something wrong."

2. Badges？… We ain't got no badges. 

上面这样的俚语很常见，尤其在流行歌曲的歌词上。说者的意思是

“…We ain’t got badges.”  另一方面，因为 “ain’t” 是 “am not” 的缩写，所以
“We am not got Badges” 在语法上也错。

正确的说法应该是 "We haven’t got any badges.”