English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)
You couldn’t agree more or less?
The man said Nigeria must be willing to fight corruption to get things right and I ~couldn’t agree less~ (nonstandard).
The man said Nigeria must be willing to fight corruption to get things right and I *couldn’t agree more* (standard).
You say “I couldn’t agree more” when you strongly agree.
The man feels only the government, and not the citizens, will fix the country. That makes no sense to me so I ~couldn’t agree more~ (nonstandard).
The man feels only the government, and not the citizens, will fix the country. That makes no sense to me so I *couldn’t agree less* (standard). If you say “you couldn’t agree less”, you mean that you completely disagree.
These expressions are also exemplified with the sentences below:
I couldn’t love her more (I love her very much).
I couldn’t love her less ( I do not love her).
GAB
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