Incorrect placement of negatives (123)

For the most part, avoiding double negation is as simple as removing the second negation and/or replacing it with the word any. When using negative verbs, however, it is important to pay attention to the placement of the negation in order to avoid confusing the reader. Therefore, when using a negation with more than one verb in a string, place the negative after the first verb. Consider the following sentence:

Double Negative: I wouldn’t never have known how to finish the math puzzle until you showed me.

Correction: I would have never known how to finish the math puzzle until you showed me.

It is important to recognize double negatives as errors in any clause, and know how to correct them in order to the meaning of the sentences are clear.