double negative

[halcyon marten]

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double negative

[drowsy nymph]

J’ai pas mon livre de grammaire sous la main mais apparement c’est une structure très courante dans laquelle on utilise la négation pour exprimer le doute. Qu’entends tu par “double negative”?

[robust sinew]

As in not being in the wrong class.

« Am I not in the wrong class? » has a soft implication that you were hoping to be in the wrong class.

ie:

• « Am I wrong? »: you believe you are correct
• « Am I not wrong? »: you believe you are wrong

« I was wondering if I was not in the wrong class » in English sounds like you believe or were hoping you were in the wrong class… which is odd.

[drowsy nymph]

I don't think this nuance translates well into french, afaik:
"je me demande si je ne suis pas dans la bonne classe" and "je me demande si je ne suis pas dans la mauvaise classe" mean the same thing.

[visual light]

since its the wrong class he's douting about being in, it adds a negation

it makes sens to a french speaker

[mossy dagger]

stop calling everything AI slop lmao

we literally say the same thing in English
"I wondered if I wasn't in the wrong class"

[surreal ferry]

yeah it sounds fine to me in English

[robust sinew]

So there’s no nuance difference between the two?

• j’étais dans la bonne classe (if I was in the right class)
• je n’étais pas dans la mauvaise classe (if I wasn’t in the wrong class)

Nuance as in the belief/hope I mentioned earlier

[mossy dagger]

one emphasizes the class being the right one, the other emphasizes the class being the wrong one

et le doute