Quote:
Originally Posted by YuriTokoro
Hi, OzukakiBurasuki.
I see, that was a southern slang. OK!
But I don't understand "My grandma actually achieves triple negatives all the time."
What that means? Tell me in easy English, please.  |
He means that statements made by his grandmother have three examples or forms of negative terms. Words that turn the meaning of other words to the opposite meaning. Using his grandmother's sentence as an example:
"I ain't never did none of that."
The main idea of the statement is she (the grandmother) has not performed some action that forms the context of the conversation taking place at that time. Except with three sets of negative (or meaning-reversing) terms, the meaning is completely opposite. Simplified, it means:
"I have done that."
Her statement, contains three elements that explain her concept incorrectly multiple times.
"ain't" -- a slang contraction of "have not" (in this context), which is used by the speaker to indicate the absence of something (action, item, or state of being)
"never" -- a word that indicates an action or state of being has not occured at any time in the past
"none" -- a numbering word that indicates the absence of items or states of being discussed in the present context
In the statement, "ain't" is modifying "never", which is incorrect English. The term used for such incorrect grammar is "double negative", or using two modifying words or phrases that reverse the meaning of a statement to its opposite in such a way that they cancel each other out. In short, it means "have not never", or the action being discussed *has* occurred.
The triple negative of the statement is "none", which in this sentence is modified by the phrase "of that". It again refers back to the verb of the sentence "done", modified by the double negative "ain't never".
In essence, the person's grandmother has said she has done some action in the past. Her meaning is completely the opposite (that she has *not* done some action in the past), but she is using negative words and contractions to communicate the concept more forcefully.