1
00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,680
Speaker 1: For some weird reason, the coffee shop near my office

2
00:00:03,799 --> 00:00:08,119
was closed this morning. I looked inside, but I couldn't

3
00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:13,880
see anybody. I mean I could see nothing in there. Well,

4
00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:19,640
actually I didn't see nobody. There was a mouse running around.

5
00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:21,760
Let's talk about that.

6
00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:29,199
Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from

7
00:00:29,239 --> 00:00:33,039
New York City, and here's your English teacher, Michael.

8
00:00:33,799 --> 00:00:38,439
Speaker 1: Alrighty, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael here

9
00:00:38,479 --> 00:00:42,600
from Happy English and I help people speak English better.

10
00:00:43,359 --> 00:00:51,320
This is Happy English Podcast, Episode seven fifty nine. Double Negatives.

11
00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:56,000
That's today's English lesson topic. Do you have a request

12
00:00:56,039 --> 00:00:59,000
for a topic here? Feel free to send me a

13
00:00:59,079 --> 00:01:03,039
message at Myhappy English dot com and let me know.

14
00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:07,840
Today we're going to be tackling something that's a little different.

15
00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:11,920
Get ready to come with me and explore the world

16
00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:16,840
of double negatives. Double negatives, Yeah you heard that right.

17
00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:22,120
These are tricky little grammar gremlins that you've seen in

18
00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:29,599
movies and heard in music like this classic from Louis Prima. God.

19
00:01:32,719 --> 00:01:38,640
I ain't got nobody, I ain't got nobody what. Let's

20
00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:42,280
see where that comes from. First of all, let's look

21
00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:47,239
at anybody anything in either these words are generally used

22
00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:50,959
with a negative verb or a question. I looked in

23
00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,799
the coffee shop, but I couldn't see anybody. If you

24
00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:58,680
get captured by the police, just don't tell them anything.

25
00:02:00,079 --> 00:02:05,319
Suggestion won't help either of us. That's pretty straightforward, right,

26
00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:10,360
So let's look at the negative words nobody, nothing in neither.

27
00:02:11,039 --> 00:02:15,800
These three nobody nothing in either already have a built

28
00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:20,159
in negative meaning, which means that a negative verb is

29
00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:23,759
not needed. I looked in the coffee shop, but I

30
00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:29,240
could see nobody. I could see nobody. This has the

31
00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:35,439
same meaning as I couldn't see anybody, But we tend

32
00:02:35,479 --> 00:02:40,240
to use nobody, nothing, and neither like this for emphasis.

33
00:02:41,199 --> 00:02:45,240
Those words have a stronger, more formal sound, and that's

34
00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:49,560
what makes them more emphatic, Like when you say I

35
00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:53,759
have nothing to do with this, it carries more weight

36
00:02:54,159 --> 00:02:57,759
than saying I don't have anything to do with this.

37
00:02:58,439 --> 00:03:01,960
If you're a fan of police traumas, you probably heard

38
00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:05,479
something like if you get caught by the police, tell

39
00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:10,680
them nothing. Tell them nothing is a more dramatic way

40
00:03:10,759 --> 00:03:15,919
to say, don't tell them anything. And you know, speaking

41
00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:20,479
of drama, the English language does bend the rules sometimes,

42
00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:25,439
like in the case of double negatives. Imagine you have

43
00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:30,400
a big disagreement with a friend and suddenly they fall silent.

44
00:03:31,479 --> 00:03:35,400
Silence is golden only when both people are in a

45
00:03:35,439 --> 00:03:41,120
good mood. But after an argument, silence is unsettling. If

46
00:03:41,159 --> 00:03:44,759
that happens to you, you probably want to ask your

47
00:03:44,759 --> 00:03:50,080
friend to say something. You might say, Hey, don't say

48
00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:53,879
nothing to me, Just tell me what you are thinking

49
00:03:53,919 --> 00:04:00,000
about now, don't say nothing. When two negative words are

50
00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:05,039
used in one sentence, both words have their complete meaning.

51
00:04:06,039 --> 00:04:11,560
Don't say nothing means don't be silent. Please say something,

52
00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:16,800
talk to me, don't say nothing. As I mentioned earlier

53
00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:19,800
this morning, when I looked in the coffee shop, I

54
00:04:19,879 --> 00:04:25,240
didn't see nobody. There was a mouse running around, but

55
00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:31,639
I didn't see nobody means I saw somebody. Well, the

56
00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:36,720
somebody was a mouse, I didn't see nobody. Two negatives

57
00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:41,040
can actually make a positive. Don't say nothing to me.

58
00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:45,120
It's like saying, I really need you to say something,

59
00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:50,439
anything at all. The double negative adds this urgency, like

60
00:04:50,959 --> 00:04:55,240
a plea for a response. It's not just about the

61
00:04:55,279 --> 00:04:59,959
words themselves, it's about how we use them, the tone

62
00:05:00,079 --> 00:05:04,360
a voice, the context of the conversation. All of that

63
00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:09,000
plays a role in how we interpret meaning. And now

64
00:05:09,399 --> 00:05:13,079
it's time to start bending the rules as we venture

65
00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:17,560
into the wild world of slang, because when it comes

66
00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:22,240
to casual English double negatives, they really come out to play.

67
00:05:22,959 --> 00:05:27,120
You know. Slang itself is like the playground of language,

68
00:05:27,319 --> 00:05:31,199
where you can experiment and play with words in all

69
00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:36,000
sorts of fun and creative ways. Two examples of this

70
00:05:36,199 --> 00:05:42,000
are ain't got and don't gout. In conversational American English,

71
00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:45,800
two or more negatives can be used with a single

72
00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:49,720
negative meaning, like if your friend asks you if you

73
00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:53,120
want to go out on the weekend, maybe you want to,

74
00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:58,560
but money is a little tight. The slang double negative

75
00:05:58,639 --> 00:06:02,759
can help just to tell your friend, sorry, man, I

76
00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:06,920
ain't got no money this week. I ain't got no

77
00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:12,240
money means I don't have any money. And if it's

78
00:06:12,399 --> 00:06:17,120
just a few days before payday, maybe nobody ain't got

79
00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:20,879
no money. When I went to that coffee shop this morning,

80
00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:26,040
I didn't see nobody don't and didn't also get the

81
00:06:26,199 --> 00:06:29,839
chance to be used as slang double negatives with a

82
00:06:29,879 --> 00:06:34,120
single negative meaning. Let me tell you the situation. There's

83
00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:38,800
me and my two friends Jack and Jenny. All of

84
00:06:38,879 --> 00:06:43,199
us are busy and have no free time, So I

85
00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:48,199
don't got no time, Jack don't got no time. And Jenny, well,

86
00:06:49,079 --> 00:06:53,040
she don't got no time neither. She don't got no

87
00:06:53,319 --> 00:06:59,120
time neither. She's really busy. Remember that with double negatives

88
00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:03,199
and slang with ain't got no and don't got no,

89
00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:07,439
you really have to pay attention to the context in

90
00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:11,480
order to understand the meaning. And by the way, you

91
00:07:11,519 --> 00:07:15,800
don't necessarily need to use this kind of slang, but

92
00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:18,639
I do think it's a good idea to know that

93
00:07:18,759 --> 00:07:22,519
it's used out there, like I said, in movies, TV

94
00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:31,959
shows and in music. God keep in mind, the best

95
00:07:31,959 --> 00:07:35,240
way to remember this kind of English, or any other

96
00:07:35,319 --> 00:07:37,759
word or phrase in English, is to take that word

97
00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:41,439
or phrase, write it in a sentence that's true for

98
00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:47,160
you or true in your world, and then memorize your sentences. Hey,

99
00:07:47,199 --> 00:07:49,000
did you know that you can get the chance to

100
00:07:49,079 --> 00:07:52,920
practice this kind of English with me directly? You can

101
00:07:52,959 --> 00:07:56,560
get more practice using your English when you join my

102
00:07:56,759 --> 00:08:01,639
podcast Learner's Study Group. There you can make new friends,

103
00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:05,360
join us for live group lessons every week where we

104
00:08:05,439 --> 00:08:10,360
practice these podcast lessons together. Plus you get access to

105
00:08:10,399 --> 00:08:14,720
the pdf transcript and audio download for every Happy English

106
00:08:14,759 --> 00:08:18,560
podcast in the past and in the future. And on

107
00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:22,360
top of that, each episode has exercises where you can

108
00:08:22,439 --> 00:08:27,160
practice this English point with speaking and writing checked by me.

109
00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:31,560
To learn more, just visit Myhappy English dot com and

110
00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:37,799
choose podcast lesson seven fifty nine. Remember, learning another language

111
00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:41,159
is not easy, but it's not impossible, and I'm here

112
00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:44,159
to help you on your journey.

113
00:08:44,799 --> 00:08:47,919
Speaker 2: This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please

114
00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:52,519
visit Myhappy English dot com show your support for Happy

115
00:08:52,559 --> 00:08:56,360
English by leaving us a review. Get English, Get Happy,

116
00:08:56,519 --> 00:08:57,399
Happy English.

117
00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:07,840
Speaker 1: Fish