" Incorrect. Say, "I ought to have gone (or I should have
gone) to school to-day; I ought not to have gone fishing." If the
second clause is not an after-thought the sentence can be still
further improved by condensing it; as, "I should have gone to school
to-day, and not to have gone fishing."
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CHAPTER XV
Two Negatives
The use of two negatives in a sentence is much more common than is
generally supposed. To assume that only those who are grossly ignorant
of grammatical rules and constructions employ them, is an error.
Writers whose names are as bright stars in the constellation of
literature have slipped on this treacherous ground.
A negation, in English, admits of only one negative word. The use of a
single negative carries the meaning halfway around the circle. The
meaning is therefore diametrically opposed to that which would be
expressed without the negative. The use of a second negative would
carry the meaning the remaining distance around the circle, thus
bringing it to the starting point, and making it equivalent to the
affirmative. The second negative destroys the effect of the first.
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