The infamous double negative - is it ever correct?
Most people learning English as a second, third etc. language are taught simply that double negatives are wrong! Often, this is true - but there are exceptions.
"We can go" or "We can't not go"?
"We can go" simply means that we are able to go; we have the time, transport etc., therefore we are able to go.
"We can't not go" means that it would be unacceptable not to go.
If a couple are invited to a wedding of a close relation but neither was keen to go, one might say to the other, "We can't not go!" It means that they will be expected to go. It would be wrong for them not to go.
Here is a commonly used double negative:
She is not unattractive. This means she is not ugly, whereas:
She is attractive, suggests that she is positively good looking.
It is perfectly correct to use a double negative in response to a negative question or comment. For example:
"That was uninteresting."
"It wasn't uninteresting."
The Oxford Dictionary quotes:
"I was not unconvinced by his argument". This suggests that his argument has some value, but still you are not sure. The alternative, "I was convinced by his argument", means that, having heard his argument, you agree with him.
This doesn't alter the fact that "I haven't got nothing" is wrong. The double negative here would give the meaning, "I have something".
Likewise, "We didn't go nowhere" means "We went somewhere".
Double negatives are used generally to create a nuance of meaning which would not exist in the alternative with no negatives. They can't be used to emphasise a point!
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