Thread: English Pet Peeves & Common Mistakes

"What it is, is..."

As in: "Ma'am, what the problem with your engine is, is the starter's busted."

Non-US people would probably never make this one. But it's rampant in Arizona. And cringeworthy. =)

I'll donate my old English teachers personal favorite, "and also." As in, this is an annoying habit, and also not very logical. And and also are duplicative. Pick one she would shout (literally, it's quite a vivid memory) She was also driven crazy by double negatives in a sentence (which Russian allows). "I haven't never owed nothing to no one" Remember kids in English, as in math two negative equal a positive.

Originally Posted by sarah37

by double negatives in a sentence (which Russian allows). "I haven't never owed nothing to no one" Remember kids in English, as in math two negative equal a positive.

'I haven't ever owed anything to anyone' means "Я никогда никому ничего не был должен". And there's only one negative word: не. It's the only negative word in Russian. Things like ничего, никто, никому etc. are not negative; they act as negative words, so to say. At the same time they never go without the не in a sentence. You may say how about cases like this: - Что ты здесь делаешь? - Ничего. - What are you doing here? - Nothing. There's no single не in the answer. There's actually is one, but it's omitted. The full sentence is 'Я ничего здесь не делаю'. A double negative occurs when two не are used: Я не мог не показать ему, как он выглядит в зеркале. I couldn't help showing him his reflection in the mirror. Maybe there are some other cases when a double negative occurs, but I can't remember them.

"I haven't never owed nothing to no one"

Does this sentence mean something sensible? (Am I correct saying that?) If yes, I'm curious to know what it is.

Remember kids in English, as in math two negative equal a positive.

So it does in Russian.