Double Negatives

B1 · IntermediateNegatives

I don't have any money — not 'I don't have no money.' Standard English pairs a negative verb with an any-word, never with a no-word.

What you'll learn

Standard English never combines a negative verb (don't, can't, isn't, haven't...) with a no-word (no, nobody, nothing, nowhere, never) in the same clause
A no-word already carries the negation on its own, so it pairs with a plain, positive verb instead
Near-negative words like hardly, scarcely, and barely behave like negatives too — they don't take another not/don't either
Double negatives are grammatical and common in many everyday and dialect forms of English — but standard/formal English avoids them

One negative per clause

Standard English uses only one negative word per clause. A negative verb (don't, can't, isn't...) pairs with an any-word (any, anybody, anything, anywhere, ever) — never with a no-word, which already does the negating by itself.

"I don't have any money."

"I don't have no money. (non-standard)"

Two correct options, never both together

There are always two standard ways to say it: a negative verb + an any-word, or a no-word + a plain positive verb. Mixing a negative verb with a no-word combines both into a non-standard double negative.

"She didn't say anything. / She said nothing."

"We can't find it anywhere. / We can find it nowhere. (formal)"

Hardly, scarcely, barely

Hardly, scarcely, and barely already carry a near-negative meaning, so they follow the same rule — they pair with a plain positive verb, not with another not/don't.

"I hardly know him."

"She can hardly hear you."

Real English

"I didn't see anyone."

"He can't do anything about it."

"She barely eats anything."

"We never told anybody."

Watch out

✗I don't have no money.

✓I don't have any money. / I have no money.

'Don't' and 'no' are both negatives — standard English never stacks them in the same clause.

✗I don't want nothing.

✓I don't want anything.

'Nothing' already means 'not anything' — pairing it with 'don't' doubles the negation.

✗She can't hardly hear you.

✓She can hardly hear you.

'Hardly' already carries a near-negative meaning — it doesn't need (and doesn't take) 'can't' as well.

Real life — Asking about a lost item

"Have you found your keys?"

"No, I still can't find them anywhere."

"Did anyone check under the couch?"

"I looked — there was nothing there."

Practice

Exercise 1 · Choose the standard English sentence

Choose the standard English sentence.

Exercise 2 · Choose the standard English sentence

Choose the standard English sentence.

Exercise 3 · Choose the standard English sentence

Choose the standard English sentence.

Exercise 4 · Choose the standard English sentence

Choose the standard English sentence.

Exercise 5 · Choose the standard English sentence

Choose the standard English sentence.

Exercise 6 · Choose the standard English sentence

Choose the standard English sentence.

Exercise 7 · Choose the standard English sentence

Choose the standard English sentence.

Exercise 8 · Choose the standard English sentence

Choose the standard English sentence — 'hardly' is already near-negative.

Exercise 9 · Fix the double negative

Fix the double negative: 'I don't want nothing.'

Exercise 10 · Fix the double negative

Fix the double negative: 'She can't hardly hear you.'

Exercise 11 · Sort into groups

I don't have any time.

I don't have no time.

She doesn't know anything.

She doesn't know nothing.

We can't find it anywhere.

We can't find it nowhere.

0 / 6 sorted

Quick challenge

Five quick questions to check what stuck.

Question 1 / 5

Score: 0/0

Choose the standard English sentence.

You learned

Standard English uses only one negative word per clause.
A negative verb pairs with an any-word, never with a no-word.
Hardly, scarcely, and barely already carry a near-negative meaning and follow the same rule.
Double negatives are common in everyday and dialect speech — standard/formal English avoids them.

ElementaryNegatives

Negative Questions

Learn how to build a negative question — the contracted auxiliary + n't inverts in front of the subject, for both yes/no and wh-questions.

BeginnerNegatives

No, Never, Nobody and Nothing

Learn the 'no-words' — no, never, nobody, nothing, nowhere — a second, equally natural way to make an English sentence negative.

BeginnerNegatives

Negative Sentences with Not

Learn how to make an English sentence negative — 'not' always needs a helping verb (be, do/does/did, or a modal) to attach to.

IntermediateQuestions

Advanced Question Forms

Learn two more natural question patterns: leaving a preposition at the end of the question, and negative questions used for surprise or agreement.