can't not

S

STEP18

New Member
ESPAÑOL
what means this? can be used? my english teacher never heard this before help me please is alanis morissette's song tittle
 
    • does not sound correct to me, but when it is a song title it is possibly some creativ word playing, I don`t know. never heard it before
    and does not make much sense to me either
     
    STEP18 said:
    what means this? can be used? my english teacher never heard this before help me please is alanis morissette's song tittleWhat does this mean? Can it be used? My English teacher has never heard this before. Please help me. It is Alanis Morressette's song title.
    Click to expand...

    Hi STEP18,

    Song titles are notorious for their ambiguity and poetic licence.

    I've heard "can't not" used in a sentence such as -

    "You can't not go to the party. Everyone is expecting you."

    I have corrected your English. Please remember the forum rules and use punctuation and capital letters where required. :)

    Thank you.
    LRV
     
    I'm Sorry But When I Saw A Traduction Of This Song In Spanish It Says I Can't Do It For Can't Not
     
    I think there's a name for it, double negative maybe?

    Anyway, it's pretty common, mainly in order to give emphasis:

    You can't not have seen that.

    You can't not go out!

    etc.
     
    STEP18 said:
    I'm sorry but when I saw a translation of this song in Spanish it said "I can't do it" for can't not.
    Click to expand...

    I trust your English is good enough to know not to capitalize every word. ;)

    Can't not is just another way to say Can not not + verb. I can't not go to the part. I am unable to not go to the party.
     
    I actually used this phrase recently for emphasis. Let me set up the context. I'm finishing up my last semester at college. I've been involved with a particular activity (choir) for seven semesters, and I wanted to continue with it during my eighth, and last, semester, even though I have many, many other obligations. I said to my friend:

    "I know I won't have time to do this, but I can't NOT be in choir."

    Grammatically, it's a double negative and incorrect, but in this particular context it was the phrase I was looking for. I wanted to emphasis that NOT being in choir is something I am incapable of doing.
     
    shoobydoowap said:
    I actually used this phrase recently for emphasis. Let me set up the context. I'm finishing up my last semester at college. I've been involved with a particular activity (choir) for seven semesters, and I wanted to continue with it during my eighth, and last, semester, even though I have many, many other obligations. I said to my friend:

    "I know I won't have time to do this, but I can't NOT be in choir."

    Grammatically, it's a double negative and incorrect, but in this particular context it was the phrase I was looking for. I wanted to emphasis that NOT being in choir is something I am incapable of doing.
    Click to expand...

    A double negative is grammatically correct if you mean it to be a positive--in this case, "I must be in the choir." Two negatives make a grammatical positive. It's only grammatically incorrect if you actually meant that you can't be in the choir.
     
    "You Can't not" means "you must" or " you have to". It would usually be used in the context of someone not planning to do something that you want them to do.

    If it was translated as "can't do it" it was translated poorly or the original was an irregular usage.

    As other noted, you should not generally use songs as examples of good grammar...
     
    The use of double negatives in English is difficult (for me) to analyse but easy (for me) to understand.

    Consider these examples.
    I can't get no satisfaction.
    I don't love you no more.
    I can't not go to the party.

    In the first two, the double negative functions as an intensifier.
    I can't get any satisfaction.
    I don't love you any more.

    In the third, the double negative functions more than logically. Logically, the negatives would cancel to become:
    I can go to the party.
    But that is not how we interpret the statement. To me (and others above) it means:
    I must go to the party.

    If you would like to go on a journey of exploration, try a forum search for "double negative".
     
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