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I have long been puzzled why "not" appears in constructions like:

  • Do you not agree that X is a most pleasant person?

when it is clear from the context that the person asked clearly does agree that X is pleasant.           If the question were "Why do you not agree....." the question would make sense, although it would be a different conversation.

I notice this construction mostly in the works of English writers, especially in those of the first half of the 20th century, although the most recent example I saw was in "Passionate Nomad, The Life of Freya Stark", by Jane Fletcher Geniesse (The Modern Library; 2001).

How and when did this construction arise? Is it part of an older style? It seems precious to me, although the biography of Freya Stark in which I found the latest example is not in the least precious.

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    In more modern times you may have encountered phrases like "don't you think ..." Are those just as puzzling to you, or could the different word order be making a familiar phrase seem unfamiliar?
    – Dan Getz
    Commented Feb 20 at 23:19
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    It's not nonsensical, it's a challenge: How dare you disagree.
    – Yosef Baskin
    Commented Feb 20 at 23:46
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    There is a similar question at Law SE: Why do lawyers ask "Is it not true that ...".
    – Rick Smith
    Commented 2 days ago
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    It's not a problem until they reply "Yes, indeed" and just walk away. Then you just threw a smarta** boomerang.
    – HippoSawrUs
    Commented 2 days ago
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    Are you specifically asking about the construction "do you not" as opposed to "don't you"? Or are you equally puzzled by the contracted and uncontracted forms? Asking a question in the negative is an ancient rhetorical device; it appears in Genesis, for example.
    – phoog
    Commented 2 days ago

2 Answers 2

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It's simple:

Do you disagree that Oscar the Grouch is a most unpleasant person?

The question expresses an assumption on the part of the questioner that to disagree with that opinion would be unusual, and perhaps an indication that the person disagreeing with it is to be given a wide berth. The person asked is put on the defensive.

The adjective can be adulatory or critical.

It can also be a proposition that is put forward:

Do you not agree that society is all about survival of the fittest?

Do you not agree that alliances between countries should be made for the benefit of their leaders?

Do you not agree that Helen of Troy started the war between Greece and Troy?

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    I think the disagree case is confusing the real issue. Don't you think that Do you X? questions and their negated Don't you X form are very different from each other in what sort of assumption they're putting on the person asked? Compare Are you going to wash your hands? with Aren't you going to wash your hands?, or Wouldn't you agree with Would you agree?, to see what I mean.
    – tchrist ♦
    Commented Feb 21 at 2:17
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    @tchrist I am not sure that I follow what you were saying, but I think you're saying that Do you not agree? and Do you disagree? put the person asked in a different posture, and if so, I would disagree. [Do you disagree | Do you not agree] that our new CEO ought to be put in a straight jacket? seem equivalent to me in terms of putting the person asked on the defensive if they do not concur with the proposition.
    – TimR
    Commented 2 days ago
  • @tchrist << Do you not / Don't you agree that X is a most pleasant person? >>, while challenging, seems less likely to be part of a stepped argument than << Do you agree that X is a most pleasant person? >> (ie more likely as a conversation-concluding [bar the answer] question). Both of your examples seem more confrontational, with the tone of questioning being a major factor in the level of admonishment (though only the non-negated one can approach zero).
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented 2 days ago
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Some languages, like ancient Latin and ancient Greek have a way of asking a question in a way that indicates that the answer expected by the speaker must be 'yes' or 'no'. In Latin, for example, the word nonne at the beginning of the question indicates that the speaker thinks the answer must be "yes", while the word num indicates that the speaker thinks the answer is "no". Ancient Greek has a similar approach.

French has a way for a speaker to indicate what s/he thinks the suggestion is true, using "n'est-ce pas?" - literally, "is it not?" or "isn't it so?"

English has its own way of doing this. So

  1. 'You saw the tennis final on TV, didn't you?'* expects the answer "yes" (although it is possible to express it with an incredulous tone of voice to suggest the opposite.

  2. 'You haven't started your homework, have you?' expects the answer 'no', even though there is a tone of voice in which it is clear that the parent had entered the child's room expecting to catch them glued to a computer game but is amazed to find they are wrong. Unlike the Latin, it is all in the tone of voice.

There is a third, shortened version, again effected by tone of voice.

  1. 'Didn't I see you on television, yesterday?' indicates that I think I saw them on TV, but am surprised at the fact - expected otherwise.
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  • You saw the tennis final on TV, didn't you? - the question is actually "didn't you?". If I answer yes it means: "yes, you're right. I didn't see the [...]". But it seems the actual meaning of yes is "yes, I saw the [...]. That's really confusing, since the answer means the opposite.
    – Mark
    Commented yesterday
  • I was about to edit your 'effected', but paused long enough to realise it was correct!
    – Neil_UK
    Commented yesterday

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