HSK 4 grammar · pattern
双重否定
双重否定 — double negation for emphasis
Pattern
+ + +
means: must
+ + +
means: all do
+ +
means: must
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
Two negatives in one clause cancel out to make a strong positive — a way to emphasize. Common frames are 不…不… (不能不 "can't not" = must), 没(有)…不… (没有人不知道 "no one doesn't know" = everyone knows), and 非…不可 ("simply must").
Examples
这件事我不能不管。
Zhè jiàn shì wǒ bù néng bù guǎn.
I can't just not deal with this.
我们班没有人不喜欢她。
Wǒmen bān méiyǒu rén bù xǐhuan tā.
There's no one in our class who doesn't like her.
今天这顿饭你非吃不可。
Jīntiān zhè dùn fàn nǐ fēi chī bùkě.
You simply must eat this meal today.
Related
See it in a story
In the app, 双重否定 is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.