IS it correct to use miss and not together, like "I miss not having something"?
2006-08-03 01:12:21 · 8 answers · asked by shilpi_cc 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
"I miss not having lunch together" (you are currently having lunch together and you miss the time previous in which you weren't having lunch?)
"I miss not having any money" (Some might miss this since money can cause problems)
It is a somewhat confusing way to convey a message, a better a approach to "I miss not having something" would be, "I desire "something's opposite""
For the first sentence, "I'll be glad when this lunch with you is over", and for the second "Thing's were better off when I was broke"
As far as official grammer rules go I can't think that it would be a problem but I don't know for sure.
2006-08-03 02:59:31 · answer #1 · answered by Justaguyinaplace 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Sounds like the use of a double negative to me. I think it's probably grammatically correct but possibly you might mean I miss having something? Or do you mean I don't miss having something?
Miss in this context conveys a lack and not means something is gone. So...I'd rewrite the sentence for clarity.
2006-08-03 08:19:01 · answer #2 · answered by keyz 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's fine. "I miss not having my friend around since she moved away." Maybe in the interest of clarity you could change it to "I miss my friend since she moved away" and I'd do that if I were writing something -- you don't want too much verbiage in written communication! -- but it's still grammatically correct.
Edit: After reading some of the other posts I have to change what I said. It would be "I miss having my friend around." or "I hate not having my friend around". I suppose you could say "I miss not feeling miserable" if you were feeling pretty low lately and prefer NOT feeling that way.
2006-08-03 09:04:51 · answer #3 · answered by B D 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It could be. For instance: "I miss not having books to read" means the speaker prefers it when there aren't any books to read, which could be true, although that condition would typically be stated as: "I'd rather watch tv than read books" or some such. When most people say they "miss not", it's actually grammatically incorrect since what they typically mean is, e.g. they do miss reading books (they'd rather read books than watch tv).
2006-08-03 09:40:08 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, it's not really correct. Using "not" in the sentence makes the sentence a bit awkward and unclear, and it's unnecessary. Compare "I miss not having eggs for breakfast" and "I miss having eggs for breakfast." The second sentence is correct and the meaning is clear.
2006-08-03 19:40:18 · answer #5 · answered by Girasol 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know of any other way you could say that. I don't know what you would say I miss not having. Maybe you miss having something. But I don't see why it would be wrong.
2006-08-03 08:23:43 · answer #6 · answered by Karla 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's perfectly grammatically correct. Just like: "I regret not having studied English grammar."
2006-08-03 08:18:47 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don`t think so. this is corect: I don`t miss having something
2006-08-03 10:42:13 · answer #8 · answered by Robi 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋