Double negatives: Stay positive!

A double negative is an error that occurs when two forms of negation are used in one clause. The two negatives cancel one another, producing an opposite (in other words, positive) meaning. For example, if you say “I didn't hear nothing,” you're actually saying “I heard something.” To correct the double negative, you could say “I didn't hear anything” or “I heard nothing.”

See if you can spot the double negatives, and indicate whether the sentences below are correct or incorrect.

1. "I don’t know nothing about grooming standard poodles!" exclaimed Theo.
2. Francie made sure that she did not use any double negatives in her English essay.
3. Gregory hasn’t scarcely had a bite to eat all day.
4. We haven’t seen a gas station nowhere in this town.
5. The philosophy students couldn’t understand hardly anything Professor Grundy said.
6. Veronica barely lasted a month on her unusually strict diet.
7. Sylvano did not eat neither his peas nor his carrots.