Not for Nothing

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#202090 Wed, 01 Mar 06 10:13 AM

Would you help me interpret the following? The sentence is inverted because "not" is placed at the very beggining. This doesn't seem to be a case of the double negative. Or, is it?

Not for nothing is she a former singer.

Not for nothing is the city a sister city of New York.

Hiro

Sendai, Japan

HSS

Joined on Wed, Nov 16 2005

Sendai, Japan

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JH7JHH, First Class ham radio operator. N9COW in the US.

Negatives

Jay_zzz0

#202091 Wed, 01 Mar 06 10:34 AM

Hi Hiro. I think the 'not' at the beginning of the sentence can be interpreted as a form of double negative.

'Not for nothing' sounds like 'there are some reasons behind' in your sentences. Let's see what others think.

Jay_zzz0

Joined on Sun, Nov 27 2005

Full Member (114)

Negatives

Anonymous

#202116 Wed, 01 Mar 06 12:53 PM

Hi, Jay.

Thanks for your thought. Yes, let's just await what other think. A quick Googling found so many similar examples.

Correction: as it is so clear "beggining" should have been "beginning" in my first post. I knocked the query up in no time as I sped out of my office.

Anonymous

HSS

#202117 Wed, 01 Mar 06 12:55 PM

Hi, Jay.

Thanks for your thought. Yes, let's just await what others think. A quick Googling found so many similar examples.

Correction: as it is so clear "beggining" should have been "beginning" in my first post. I knocked the query up in no time as I sped out of my office.

Hiro

HSS

Goodman

#202177 Wed, 01 Mar 06 05:07 PM

Hi all,

To be honest, I've never seen or heard this before.

Goodman

Joined on Mon, Nov 7 2005

Calif. USA

Senior Member (3,090)

The name says it all!

Clive

#202315 Thu, 02 Mar 06 12:55 AM

Hi guys,

Not for nothing is the city a sister city of New York can be rephrased as

The city is not a sister city of New York for nothing. The meaning is that there is, indeed, a reason.

The double negative adds emphasis. For example,if someone asks me to help them with their English, I might say I don't work for nothing! (Not, alas, a principle that I follow on this forum)

The inverted word order adds a rather rhetorical flourish and style to the sentence.

You'll find a few examples of this via google, eg

Not for nothing do many established professional writers consider that it is harder to write a good short story than a novel.

Best wishes, Clive

Clive

Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004

Canada

Veteran Member (20,469)

El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

Negatives, Word order

CalifJim

#202370 Thu, 02 Mar 06 03:21 AM

This doesn't seem to be a case of the double negative. Or, is it?

It is a double negative, but not a double negative intended to be a single negative. It is therefore correct.
Only a double negative wrongly substituting for a single negative is a problem grammatically.
This one is intended to be a double negative with double negative meaning.

CJ

CalifJim

Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004

California

Veteran Member (16,570)

"There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

Negatives

HSS

#202435 Thu, 02 Mar 06 09:22 AM

Clive wrote:

Not for nothing do many established professional writers consider that it is harder to write a good short story than a novel.

Best wishes, Clive

Hi, there.

I follow every example that you gave me but this. Could you paraphrase it, Clive?

Oh, okay, so the sentences is a positive statement ... okay, thanks, CJ.

Hiro

HSS

Clive

#202485 Thu, 02 Mar 06 02:25 PM

Hi,

Not for nothing do many established professional writers consider that it is harder to write a good short story than a novel. Could you paraphrase it?

Many established professional writers do not consider for nothing that it is harder to write a good short story than a novel. In other words,

Many established professional writers do not consider for no reason that it is harder to write a good short story than a novel. In other words,

Many established professional writers have a reason to consider that it is harder to write a good short story than a novel. In other words,

Many established professional writers consider that it is harder to write a good short story than a novel.

Clive