Learn English – “I couldn’t but laugh” – correct or not

word-choice

Is the usage of "I couldn't but laugh" in place of "I couldn't not laugh" correct English? Or should it always be "I couldn't help but laugh"?

Best Answer

I couldn’t but laugh means All I could do was laugh, implying that there was no practical action I could have undertaken (or, at least, that’s how older members of my family use it; it’s outmoded for me and I don’t use it).

By contrast, I couldn’t not laugh means I couldn’t help laughing, I had to laugh.

So, the two sentences are not equivalent and shouldn’t be interchangeable.

The third sentence, I couldn’t help but laugh means the same as I couldn’t not laugh.

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