GRM-019 Hard constraint layer: clause

Logical negation

IF two negatives unintentionally cancel into a positive, THEN replace them with the intended positive or single negative ELSE retain deliberate litotes or dialect.

Why the rule exists

Nested polarity increases error risk and can reverse the intended meaning.

Condition

The rule fires when this evaluates true. Paths marked below must be present in the fact base; the engine reports the rest rather than guessing them.

ALL
- clause.negative_count gte 2
- clause.intended_litotes eq false
- context.mode neq "quoted_dialect"

Facts this rule reads

Fact paths read by GRM-019 and whether the analyser derives them
Path	Source
`clause.negative_count`	You supply it
`clause.intended_litotes`	You supply it
`context.mode`	You supply it

Then

replace — target clause.negation, value from intended_polarity

Else

retain — target current_text, No triggering condition is present.

LAKA

Smallest sufficient intervention

Yes

Primary axes

Sources

English Grammar in Use — Raymond Murphy
Self-study explanations and practice for core English grammar.
Practical English Usage — Michael Swan
Advanced grammar and usage reference for learners and teachers.
Making Content Usable for People with Cognitive and Learning Disabilities — W3C link
Clear words, simple voice and tense, explicit instructions, and supportive structure.

The raw rule record

Verbatim from 07-core-grammar-rules.json. Also available at /v1/rules/GRM-019.

{
  "id": "GRM-019",
  "name": "Logical negation",
  "domain": "grammar",
  "layer": "clause",
  "strength": "hard_constraint",
  "human_logic": "IF two negatives unintentionally cancel into a positive, THEN replace them with the intended positive or single negative ELSE retain deliberate litotes or dialect.",
  "when": {
    "all": [
      {
        "path": "clause.negative_count",
        "operator": "gte",
        "value": 2
      },
      {
        "path": "clause.intended_litotes",
        "operator": "eq",
        "value": false
      },
      {
        "path": "context.mode",
        "operator": "neq",
        "value": "quoted_dialect"
      }
    ]
  },
  "then": [
    {
      "action": "replace",
      "target": "clause.negation",
      "value_from": "intended_polarity",
      "prefer": "single_operator"
    }
  ],
  "else": [
    {
      "action": "retain",
      "target": "current_text",
      "reason": "No triggering condition is present."
    }
  ],
  "unless": [],
  "because": "Nested polarity increases error risk and can reverse the intended meaning.",
  "diagnostics": [],
  "examples": {},
  "source_ids": [
    "BK-004",
    "BK-010",
    "WEB-006"
  ],
  "laka": {
    "smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
    "primary_axes": [
      "scope",
      "depth",
      "magnitude",
      "reversibility"
    ]
  }
}