“Had I have known that he was a lawyer I should have consulted him.” Omit have.
“I had ought to have gone to school to-day; I hadn’t ought to have gone fishing.” Incorrect. Say, “I ought to have gone (or I should have gone) to school to-day; I ought not to have gone fishing.” If the second clause is not an after-thought the sentence can be still further improved by condensing it; as, “I should have gone to school to-day, and not to have gone fishing.”
CHAPTER XV
Two Negatives
The use of two negatives in a sentence is much more common than is generally supposed. To assume that only those who are grossly ignorant of grammatical rules and constructions employ them, is an error. Writers whose names are as bright stars in the constellation of literature have slipped on this treacherous ground.
A negation, in English, admits of only one negative word. The use of a single negative carries the meaning halfway around the circle. The meaning is therefore diametrically opposed to that which would be expressed without the negative. The use of a second negative would carry the meaning the remaining distance around the circle, thus bringing it to the starting point, and making it equivalent to the affirmative. The second negative destroys the effect of the first. The two negatives are equivalent to an affirmative.
Double Negatives
While two negatives in the same sentence destroy each other, a double negative has the effect of a more exact and guarded affirmative; as, “It is not improbable that Congress will convene in special session before the end of the summer.” “It is not unimportant that, he attend to the matter at once.” “His story was not incredible.” “The fund was not inexhaustible.”
Redundant Negatives
“No one else but the workmen had any business at the meeting.” Omit else.