John Russell: Good morning, Dr. Jill!

Dr. Jill: Good morning, John.

JR: Were you listening to music? [VISUAL: Dr. Jill turns off radio or music playing in background]

Dr. J: Yes, I check the Billboard Hot 100 every week to see which songs are popular.

JR: Isn’t Justin Bieber very popular?

Dr. J: Yes, and the Kid Laroi.

JR: I don’t like him – his grammar is terrible.

Dr. J: Really? How so?

JR: Well, he has this one song called “Stay.” One of the singers sings:

Know that I can't find nobody else as good as you...

Dr. J: So, it starts with the imperative form of the verb “know.” In this form, the subject, “you,” does not appear.

JR: Right! But pay careful attention to the words “I can’t find nobody.”

Know that I can't find nobody else as good as you...

Nobody is a pronoun. It means no person. This suggests a negation.

But notice the words that come before nobody also suggest a negation: “I can’t find...”— which is short for “I cannot find.”

This produces a kind of double negation: I cannot find nobody.

Dr. J: John, you are so old-fashioned. The double negation isn’t acceptable in traditional grammar or on writing tests. But you occasionally hear it used in everyday speech. You shouldn’t judge a popular song, or a person, based on how a pronoun is used.

JR: I guess you’re right.

Dr. J: Just enjoy the music and make note of the interesting pronoun usage.

JR: I find it hard to enjoy music that doesn’t have a saxophone – it really is the greatest instrument!

Dr. J: You love the saxophone... And YOU were trying to judge the Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber?

JR: Hey! That’s not nice!

Dr. J: Haha! And that’s Everyday Grammar.