I saw no one / I didn’t see anyone
0
I saw no one / I didn’t see anyone.
We can’t use double negatives, but is there any difference between these sentences?
meaning grammar phrases meaning-in-context
edited 7 hours ago
Chappo
2,62041225
asked 8 hours ago
Curious English
174
add a comment |
0
I saw no one / I didn’t see anyone.
We can’t use double negatives, but is there any difference between these sentences?
meaning grammar phrases meaning-in-context
edited 7 hours ago
Chappo
2,62041225
asked 8 hours ago
Curious English
174
There's a subtle difference - the first is a bit more emphatic - but they're otherwise equivalent. Google Ngrams shows that "didn't see / did not see" (the ngram collapses the 2 into one search) has increased in popularity over the last 40 years in particular. Interesting to compare US vs UK usage too...
– Chappo
7 hours ago
add a comment |
0
0
0
I saw no one / I didn’t see anyone.
We can’t use double negatives, but is there any difference between these sentences?
meaning grammar phrases meaning-in-context
edited 7 hours ago
Chappo
2,62041225
asked 8 hours ago
Curious English
174
I saw no one / I didn’t see anyone.
We can’t use double negatives, but is there any difference between these sentences?
meaning grammar phrases meaning-in-context
meaning grammar phrases meaning-in-context
edited 7 hours ago
Chappo
2,62041225
asked 8 hours ago
Curious English
174
edited 7 hours ago
Chappo
2,62041225
asked 8 hours ago
Curious English
174
edited 7 hours ago
Chappo
2,62041225
edited 7 hours ago
Chappo
2,62041225
edited 7 hours ago
Chappo
2,62041225
2,62041225
asked 8 hours ago
Curious English
174
asked 8 hours ago
Curious English
174
asked 8 hours ago
Curious English
174
174
There's a subtle difference - the first is a bit more emphatic - but they're otherwise equivalent. Google Ngrams shows that "didn't see / did not see" (the ngram collapses the 2 into one search) has increased in popularity over the last 40 years in particular. Interesting to compare US vs UK usage too...
– Chappo
7 hours ago
add a comment |
There's a subtle difference - the first is a bit more emphatic - but they're otherwise equivalent. Google Ngrams shows that "didn't see / did not see" (the ngram collapses the 2 into one search) has increased in popularity over the last 40 years in particular. Interesting to compare US vs UK usage too...
– Chappo
7 hours ago
There's a subtle difference - the first is a bit more emphatic - but they're otherwise equivalent. Google Ngrams shows that "didn't see / did not see" (the ngram collapses the 2 into one search) has increased in popularity over the last 40 years in particular. Interesting to compare US vs UK usage too...
– Chappo
7 hours ago
There's a subtle difference - the first is a bit more emphatic - but they're otherwise equivalent. Google Ngrams shows that "didn't see / did not see" (the ngram collapses the 2 into one search) has increased in popularity over the last 40 years in particular. Interesting to compare US vs UK usage too...
– Chappo
7 hours ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
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Other than "I saw no one" being a bit more literary, no, no difference.
answered 7 hours ago
Colin Fine
63.7k170160
Colin, this is a bit on the short side, and I'm sure you're aware that brief answers go to the LQ queue. Any chance of a bit more detail or explanation? Otherwise it might have been better as a comment...
– Chappo
7 hours ago
add a comment |
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1 Answer
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1 Answer
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active
oldest
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active
oldest
votes
0
Other than "I saw no one" being a bit more literary, no, no difference.
answered 7 hours ago
Colin Fine
63.7k170160
Colin, this is a bit on the short side, and I'm sure you're aware that brief answers go to the LQ queue. Any chance of a bit more detail or explanation? Otherwise it might have been better as a comment...
– Chappo
7 hours ago
add a comment |
0
Other than "I saw no one" being a bit more literary, no, no difference.
answered 7 hours ago
Colin Fine
63.7k170160
Colin, this is a bit on the short side, and I'm sure you're aware that brief answers go to the LQ queue. Any chance of a bit more detail or explanation? Otherwise it might have been better as a comment...
– Chappo
7 hours ago
add a comment |
0
0
0
Other than "I saw no one" being a bit more literary, no, no difference.
answered 7 hours ago
Colin Fine
63.7k170160
Other than "I saw no one" being a bit more literary, no, no difference.
answered 7 hours ago
Colin Fine
63.7k170160
answered 7 hours ago
Colin Fine
63.7k170160
answered 7 hours ago
Colin Fine
63.7k170160
answered 7 hours ago
Colin Fine
63.7k170160
63.7k170160
Colin, this is a bit on the short side, and I'm sure you're aware that brief answers go to the LQ queue. Any chance of a bit more detail or explanation? Otherwise it might have been better as a comment...
– Chappo
7 hours ago
add a comment |
Colin, this is a bit on the short side, and I'm sure you're aware that brief answers go to the LQ queue. Any chance of a bit more detail or explanation? Otherwise it might have been better as a comment...
– Chappo
7 hours ago
Colin, this is a bit on the short side, and I'm sure you're aware that brief answers go to the LQ queue. Any chance of a bit more detail or explanation? Otherwise it might have been better as a comment...
– Chappo
7 hours ago
Colin, this is a bit on the short side, and I'm sure you're aware that brief answers go to the LQ queue. Any chance of a bit more detail or explanation? Otherwise it might have been better as a comment...
– Chappo
7 hours ago
add a comment |
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There's a subtle difference - the first is a bit more emphatic - but they're otherwise equivalent. Google Ngrams shows that "didn't see / did not see" (the ngram collapses the 2 into one search) has increased in popularity over the last 40 years in particular. Interesting to compare US vs UK usage too...
– Chappo
7 hours ago