究竟double negative可唔可以作文用?

究竟甚麼是standard english... 在考試拿到分數那種?

Double negative is not uncommon in daily English.
這句算不算是double negative? 又是否bad English?

在英文的雙重否定可能是用來強化否定語氣, 也可能是表示肯定語氣.
我搵到以下這兩段野, 給你參考一下.

In ... some languages, double negatives cancel one another and produce an affirmative sense; in other languages, doubled negatives intensify the negation....
In standard written English, when two negatives are used in one sentence, the negatives are understood to cancel one another and produce a weakened affirmative. However, in many dialects, the second negative is employed as an intensifier and should be understood as strengthening the negation rather than removing it....
In Standard English... double negatives are frequently employed when making back-handed compliments.source --- Wikipedia

A feature of negation in Chinese is the use of double negatives, typically to make a point in an indirect or subtle way. The meaning is not that of double negatives in non-standard English, as in Cockney English I dunno nothing meaning "I don't know anything", but the logical meaning whereby the two negatives make a (qualified) positive statement...
source ---Cantonese: A Comprehensive Grammar
(ISBN 0-415-08945-X)

上面Wikipedia最尾話在正式英語用雙否定通常用在讚許但又同時表示質疑的意思/很有保留地讚許,俾吓面你咁話. (你可以click去條link睇下D例子.)

總括來說, 非正式英語的雙否定是否定的意思, 而正式英語卻是肯定的意思, 但用起來也不單是肯定, 而常引申出其他意思, 這跟中文的雙否定也是不同的.

所以作文還是不要用double negative 為好, 免得你用錯了.


2011-06-12 22:25:26 補充：
double negative 不是bad english... 最多只可以話佢冇咁standard. 不過係"強化否定"的那一種才是唔standard.

至於作文唔用, 這只是我的意見, 為了保守一點, 免得用錯了.

首先要談談的是，雙重否定（double negative)的句子不是標準英文，這種用法多用在英語國家教育水平較低的人中，並會應用在口語上。所以，最好就不要用在作文上，但

若你所寫是小說，要強調某個人是鄉下佬，你也可以在他講的話中，用雙重否定；這情況下，絕對不算為錯；並且這情況常出現在英文小說中

希望幫到你！

2011-06-14 10:57:54 補充：
Garlic 兄所言甚是，

雙重否定有兩種：

一種是非正式用法，為要強調，這種用法其實只要一個negative，就可以，如：I don't know nothing=I know nothing

而另一種是正式用法，兩個否定去表達一個肯定的意思，如：She is not unhappy，並Garlic兄的It is not uncommon...，這種絕對可以用在文章上

但問者，應是問第一種，所以，除了小說，或引其他人說話外，最好不用也罷！