Didn't do nothing?

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Guest  #47537  Mon, 27 Sep 04 01:42 PM
the sentence "I didn't do nothing" means
1. I did do it?
2. I did not do it?
which one is right?

and where does this usage come from?
  
matthewg  #47539  Mon, 27 Sep 04 01:52 PM
"I didn't do nothing" is a double negative, probably with American origins. The phrase involves a contradiction of the intended meaning, and should be worded so:

"I didn't do anything" or
"I did nothing"

So (2) is the correct answer.
  
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Teacher Eric  #47912  Wed, 29 Sep 04 04:52 AM
It means "I didn't do anything' or 'I didn't do it'. Although it's grammatically incorrect, a lot of Americans use it in spoken English.
  
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nona the brit  #47998  Wed, 29 Sep 04 01:09 PM
It gets used in England as well, but is considered a bit 'common'.
  
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The name says it all.
Ratbag  #255534  Sun, 13 Aug 06 07:33 PM

That's really interesting. I got this phrase in couple of movies. Similarly, another one, from Health Inspector, Larry said:"Nobody goes nowhere". That's truely confusing to me.

So I googled "didn't do nothing", and it brought me here. I'm a freshman, say "hello" to everybody.

  
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Anonymous  #480077  Fri, 22 Feb 08 02:10 AM

I did do it

  
Akavall  #480374  Fri, 22 Feb 08 07:24 PM

But aren't there instances where "I didn't do nothing", at least in some form, is grammatically correct?

For example,

Person A: You did nothing all day!
Person B: I most certainly didn't do nothing all day!

In this case "I didn't do nothing" means "I did something".

  
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Grammar Geek  #480377  Fri, 22 Feb 08 07:26 PM

Yes, as with most things, context makes it clear what the speaker means.

  
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Barbara, who answers in American English.
Yankee  #480452  Fri, 22 Feb 08 10:23 PM

matthewg
"I didn't do nothing" is a double negative, probably with American origins. The phrase involves a contradiction of the intended meaning, and should be worded so:

"I didn't do anything" or
"I did nothing"

So (2) is the correct answer.
Gosh, do you think that Chaucer and Shakespeare were American, too? Wink
  
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