"I don't like all/every X": does it mean I only like some X, or I like no X?

Question

I don't like all students

Does it mean I like some students or none?

I don't like every student

Does it mean I like some students or none?

I have always been bothered by these questions, and whenever I use them, no one seems to have an issue. That means, I could have been misunderstood all the time. Can some knowledgeable person shed some light on this?

This question is not a dup of the earlier q. It is true that answering each question involves understanding a sentence with a negative and a quantifier. However, the positions of negative and quantifier in this q are different from the earlier q. So the earlier q's answers don't answer this q. — Rosie F, Feb 16 '18 at 20:24

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 16 '18 at 20:21

1

"I don't like all students" means that it is not true that I like all students. This means something similar to "I dislike some students".

"I don't like every student" is similar. It means that it is not true that I like every student.

answered Feb 16 '18 at 20:21

Rosie F

5,009

"I don't like all/every X": does it mean I only like some X, or I like no X?

1 Answers1