Government Grant
- Thread starter gordo
- Start date
"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch"...
Could be a double negative form, classic grammar mistake made by low education english speaking people...
... or the second negation cancels the first, giving a positive sense to the sentence, meaning then: "There is such thing as a free lunch".
Could be a double negative form, classic grammar mistake made by low education english speaking people...
... or the second negation cancels the first, giving a positive sense to the sentence, meaning then: "There is such thing as a free lunch".
gordo
Well-known member
I ain't got no quarrels with your post! LOL
dabob
Well-known member
Claude . . . you'll have to argue grammar with Robert Heinlein . . arguably the dean of science fiction . . . . but for myself I just believe in common usage in this case
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_ain't_no_such_thing_as_a_free_lunch
kansasquaker
Well-known member
This was probably posted by an intellectual who recognizes colloquial speech when he sees it, but pretends not to in order to adopt an air of superiority . . . or perhaps a foreigner who doesn't realize that languages, English included, are often spoken differently than they're written.
See, pretty much anybody can make snarky comments. I'm Ivy League educated and use 'ain't' regularly. COLLOQUIAL PHRASE WARNING! - Get off your high horse.
AP90
Well-known member
First, it's not simply the word "ain't" he's referring to. It's the "ain't no" he's referring to, which is incorrect grammar, and usually does indicate low education levels. I'm from Indiana. I hear "ain't no, got no, and I seen this.." More in 1 day than most on here probably do in a week.
Secondly, chill out fella. It's all friendly around here. Especially since this was posted in one of Gordo's funnies. No ones on a high horse. Or should I say if anyone here is on a high horse id say it's you making sure you pointed out that your "Ivy League educated".
Look at my profile, I'm French: I learnt UK english at school, and I'm not completely familiar with US streets language.
Sorry, my school wasn't a prestigious school like yours and english is not my mother-tongue, but I try to do my best.
And AP90 is right, I was neither referring to "ain't" (which I understand, and doesn't bother me), nor climbing on my high horses, I was simply trying to make a joke with the double negative form "ain't no", which, because the 2nd negation normally cancels the first, can be understood as "There is such thing as a free lunch".
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Yes... and also:
America, A Horse With No Name:
"Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain"
3 negations!..
Pink Floyd, The Wall:
"We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control"
Each time my english collegue hears this song on the radio he says that in fact they do need education!
Examples of this grammar mistake in popular culture are numerous... but it still is a mistake.
It reminds me my old times doing pre-press, when uncompetent "designers" brought to me their crappy files: when I pointed a common huge mistake in the job (like outlining fonts in a PDF or making a file for each page, or using JPEG logos, or EPS-JPEG pictures), the moron always defended himself saying "I always do like that" or "Everybody does like that" or (worst) "My teachers taught me that"...
OK, I see the point: everybody makes the same mistake, so it's the justification for doing this mistake or to make crap-job... meaning that if the others are morons, I can be too, it's more easy...
But I'm sorry, I don't think that way and I don't accept downwards levelling...: a mistake remains a mistake, even if everybody on the earth does it.
America, A Horse With No Name:
"Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain"
3 negations!..
Pink Floyd, The Wall:
"We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control"
Each time my english collegue hears this song on the radio he says that in fact they do need education!
Examples of this grammar mistake in popular culture are numerous... but it still is a mistake.
It reminds me my old times doing pre-press, when uncompetent "designers" brought to me their crappy files: when I pointed a common huge mistake in the job (like outlining fonts in a PDF or making a file for each page, or using JPEG logos, or EPS-JPEG pictures), the moron always defended himself saying "I always do like that" or "Everybody does like that" or (worst) "My teachers taught me that"...
OK, I see the point: everybody makes the same mistake, so it's the justification for doing this mistake or to make crap-job... meaning that if the others are morons, I can be too, it's more easy...
But I'm sorry, I don't think that way and I don't accept downwards levelling...: a mistake remains a mistake, even if everybody on the earth does it.
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dabob
Well-known member
Claude . . . . look at the context all of these examples are in .; .. a work of fiction, musical lyrics . . . its an art form no grammer school and you can get away with a lot of what would otherwise be wrong under the guise of art . . . whereas using a lo res jpg for a logo is business and technology and subject to standards of quality . . .
So now boys and girls the lesson is over . . . .
So now boys and girls the lesson is over . . . .
MailGuru
Well-known member
Anybody know how we got from a Government grant to pay for G7 training and the question of whether or not it's really free............to..............here?
Correct Color
Well-known member
Myself, I'm still wondering what you can possibly become "expert" at in three days.
gordo
Well-known member
G7 apparently.
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