# multiple negations



## Tavshan

Sziastok... kérdésem van. 
In Standard English, we can have only one negation per sentence, 
e.g. we say _*nobody* ever gives anything to anybody_, not _*nobody* never gives nothing to nobody._
However, in Hungarian one can have more than one negations, for emphasis. But how many? 
Can one say, for example (perhaps with a different word order),_ soha senki sem ad semmit senkinek ?
_
Köszönöm szépen...


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## francisgranada

Tavshan said:


> Can one say, for example (perhaps with a different word order),_ soha senki sem ad semmit senkinek ?_


Yes. The word order depends on what we want to emphasise; in my opinion the one of your example is also possible.


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## Tavshan

francisgranada said:


> The word order... of your example is also possible


Thank you very much francisgranada.
Is there another word order (for the same sentence, i.e. with all the same words) that would be more common, more "neutral"?


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## francisgranada

I'd say it would be more neutral _not _to begin with "soha", e.g. _ Senki sem ad senkinek soha semmit. _

Finally, I can imagine that  even in English, in spite of  a more fixed word order than we have in Hungarian, it would be possible to begin the sentence with *never * _(Never gives anybody anything to anybody)_ and perhaps it would be less neutral, as well (correct me if I'm wrong}.

(It's a bit difficult to determine objectively what is neutral and what is not, because practically whatever we say, it happens in a certain context)


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## Tavshan

Thank you francisgranada. 
Yes, you can start the sentence with *never *in English too, but that is quite emphatic, 
and it also requires a particular syntax: _never does anybody give anything to anyone_. 
Of course, _nobody ever gives anything to anyone_ is the most 'natural' word order.
The construction you suggested (_never gives anybody anything to anybody_) is not used.


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## francisgranada

Tavshan said:


> ....and it also requires a particular syntax: _never does anybody give anything to anyone_.


Of course, _does _is required .... (that's why my English version sounded to me a bit weird or archaic )


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