Adriana Mx
How is correct? I don't want to practice anything. I don't want to practice nothing. Or both? ThanksThank you very much. I wanted to know, because even if my teachers told me the correct, i have heard in some movies or series "I don't want nothing" or something like that. But it's a fact that i want to learn and speak a correct/standard English. So, please confirm if "I want to practice nothing" is correct. Thanks a lot.
Jul 2, 2015 3:58 AM
Answers · 6
1
"I don't want to practice anything" is correct in standard English. English does not usually use double negatives. I would use this in writing as an answer for a test. "I don't want to practice nothing" represents "non-standard" English. But this sentence is normal according to some people's dialects. Since it does not represent "standard" English, I would not use it in writing or as an answer for test.
July 2, 2015
You should say 'which is correct?'. The first one is correct. Some (less well educated!) people will say the second, but it is not a good thing to say. It is a 'double negative' - 'I do not want to practise nothing' can in fact mean that you want to practise something! But it isn't clear - that's why it is a bad thing to say.
July 2, 2015
Thank you very much. I wanted to know, because even if my teachers told me the correct, i have heard in some movies or series "I don't want nothing" or something like that. But it's a fact that i want to learn and speak a correct/standard English. So, please confirm if "I want to practice nothing" is correct. Thanks a lot.
July 4, 2015
I think what you're trying to say in Spanish would be "no quiero practicer nada". If this is the case, the first one is correct. The second one is what English speakers call a "double negative", since it contains two negative words that end up giving the sentence the opposite meaning of what was intended.
July 2, 2015
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