Thread: double negative

Originally Posted by demoiselle

"I didn't fail to notice him." (which means - I noticed him) is the opposite of "I failed to ignore him."

I disagree.
"I didn't fail to notice him" is NOT the opposite of "I failed to ignore him"

"I didn't fail" is the same as "I succeeded"
"I didn't fail to notice him" is the same as "I succeeded to notice him" or more simply "I noticed him".

"I failed to ignore him" means "I tried to ignore him but I couldn't". In other words "I noticed him".

Originally Posted by kwatts59

Originally Posted by demoiselle

"I didn't fail to notice him." (which means - I noticed him) is the opposite of "I failed to ignore him."

I disagree.
"I didn't fail to notice him" is NOT the opposite of "I failed to ignore him"

"I didn't fail" is the same as "I succeeded"
"I didn't fail to notice him" is the same as "I succeeded to notice him" or more simply "I noticed him".

"I failed to ignore him" means "I tried to ignore him but I couldn't". In other words "I noticed him".

The best explanation.

Phew, my brain ain't broke.

Doh. You're right. The intentions of the speakers are opposite (which is what I was trying to say) but the end result is the same - noticing him.

I'm sorry for being so unclear. My mind was stuck on what the speaker was trying to do, instead of considering the result.

Guess my brain isn't quite broken yet, but it's kinda wobbly.