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Discussion Groups / English Usage / February 2010not much less any longer
> I doubted what he said at first but not much less any longer. What confuses me is double negative: not much less As it's double negative, it could be taken as affirmative. If so, its meaning would be like follows: I doubed what he said at first but doubted it more. But this interpretation sounds strange. It seeme to me there is something wrong. But I don't know what it is. What do you think? > > I doubted what he said at first but not much less any longer. I don't think this is correct. This, IMO, is a good example: --- She looked skeptical, and the other women all insisted that it could not possibly survive until the end of the year, much less any longer. Classical Japanese Prose: An Anthology - Page 173 Helen Craig McCullough - Literary Collections - 1991 - 596 pages http://tinyurl.com/ycsptbf --- --- Marius Hancu > > > I doubted what he said at first but not much less any longer. > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > --- > Marius Hancu sorry I've wrongly quoted. The original one is: I doubted what he said at first but not much else any longer Does this mean: I confirmed his doubt, or I couldn't keep doubt about what he said > I doubted what he said at first but not much else any longer > > Does this mean: > I confirmed his doubt, or I couldn't keep doubt about what he said I think it means: "I doubted what he said at first, but I did not doubt much else (i.e. many other things), not any longer." "(Not) any longer" means that previously the speaker had entertained such doubts, but he doesn't do that at this present time (any more). Marius Hancu > I think it means: > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Marius Hancu So, it means: I doubted what he said at first, but he is no longer doubtful. > So, it means: > I doubted what he said at first, but he is no longer doubtful. about the part of "but not much else any longer " could it mean like below: what he said is not much else any longer meaning: what he said is what it was, nothing more than that. >> So, it means: >> I doubted what he said at first, but he is no longer doubtful. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > meaning: what he said is what it was, nothing more than that. All those examples are gibberish and not double negatives. No native speaker would ever use such constructs. > > I think it means: > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > "(Not) any longer" means that previously the speaker had entertained > > such doubts, but he doesn't do that at this present time (any more). > So, it means: > I doubted what he said at first, but he is no longer doubtful. No, "I doubted what he said at first, but I did not doubt much else (i.e. many other things), I was no longer doubtful." >> > I think it means: >> [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > "I doubted what he said at first, but I did not doubt much else (i.e. > many other things), I was no longer doubtful." No native speaker would ever speak like that. >> I doubted what he said at first but not much less any longer. > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > What do you think? 'Not much less' is not a double negative. >> I doubted what he said at first but not much less any longer. > > What confuses me is double negative: not much less . . . . It is not a double negative: it is simply the negation of the phrase "much less". Think of it as "not [much less]". Mind, the sentence construction is so unidiomatic as to create serious doubt as to even its base meaning.  SignatureCordially, Eric Walker, Owlcroft House http://owlcroft.com/english/ >>> I doubted what he said at first but not much less any longer. >> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Mind, the sentence construction is so unidiomatic as to create serious > doubt as to even its base meaning. Not to mention serious doubt about where it came from. It's hard to see this as the sort of sentence a native speaker would write, and I have this problem with most of the examples that Masa asks for opinions about. I wish he would give more context (or even _some_ context) and would tell us the source of the examples. Signatureathel |
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