In the 2018 ICSE Boards, this question was asked –
Anil is too fast a runner to not come first in the race.
(Convert to so…that)
I wrote a sentence using a double negative.
Anil is so fast a runner that he cannot not come first in the race.
My friends wrote –
Anil is so fast a runner that he will come first in the race.
Which one is grammatically more appropriate and why ?
Best Answer
This is a split infinitive. Some native speakers will tell you that it is incorrect to begin with, but they are mistaken. This is a perfectly valid construction. However, when we transpose it into so... that form, we must be careful with the "not."
This is somewhat grammatical, but many native speakers will have difficulty parsing the double negative. In general, you should avoid using double negatives like this.
Removing the double negative outright is a valid approach, though we do need to add a "will" to convert into future tense. This is idiomatic English. However, the connotations are slightly different. The original sentence connotes a prediction ("I expect Anil to win"), while this sentence connotes a fact ("I know that Anil will win").
This is another grammatical option. The "surely" connotes a prediction, just like the original.
Here, we convert the extra negation to a more idiomatic "cannot help..." expression. In this context, "help" roughly means "avoid." So this connotes that Anil is forced to win the race. That probably isn't the best way to express it, though, because it suggests that Anil does not want to win.