I am on a take multiple choice questions (homework) and I am struggling with reading the passage.
The line is:
"I am not at all sure that the majority of the human race have not been ugly"
I am not sure how to translate it, as to whether it will be a positive or negetive statement.
It is not a manner of vocabulary. I know what the words mean...
Its a matter of syntax.
Thanks.
2007-12-01 10:52:31 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
I am sure that the majority of the human race is ugly.
The two negatives have always canceled each other out.
2007-12-01 10:56:02 · answer #1 · answered by Cindy H 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Actually, it is a matter of vocabulary. Vocabulary is not just knowing a dictionary definition of a word, it is knowing the meaning of a word in the context of its usage. If you can't make sense of the statement, your grasp of vocabulary isn't as good as you think.
Now, regarding what some others have said...Negatives do not always cancel each other out. In a sentence like 'We don't need no stinking badges.", if you cancel out both negatives, you get "We need stinking badges.", which, of course, is not what is intended, but the opposite.
By deleting both negatives in your statement, you ARE left with a decidedly negative statement,
"I am (at all) sure that the majority of the human race have been ugly." However, it isn't that simple, because, again, having negatives cancel each other out changes the meaning of the statement. The statement as it stands is neither positive nor negative, because the speaker is NOT SURE about something. It sounds like he is leaning toward the negative, but when someone is not sure about something, simply negating the 'not' with another negative that happens to appear later on in the statement to make the statement a firmly declarative one is, in my opinion, wrong.
2007-12-01 19:16:20 · answer #2 · answered by curtisports2 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think that most of the human race have not been ugly. It is a statement about the ugliness of humans.
2007-12-01 18:57:05 · answer #3 · answered by jenesuispasunnombre 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Two negitives cancle out eachother take out the not
2007-12-01 19:01:26 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
to me, it sounds like it's saying, we all have our faults, and we all make mistakes. that is what makes us human. in my opinion its a positive statement, because it comforts us in allowing ourselves to forgive ourselves for our wrongs.
2007-12-01 19:01:07 · answer #5 · answered by Crieoll 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋