Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
"all are not..." OR "not all are .."
Suppose that 60% of all dogs are brown. I want to say that, only some dogs are brown, and others aren't. I want to say it like this:
1) All dogs are not brown
2) Not all dogs are brown
Which one is correct? I always thought that the (counterintuitive, to me) first option was correct English. But I'm not 100% sure. There is a Family Guy episode which is called "Not all dogs go to heaven", so now I'm confused. Which one is correct? Is there a webpage devoted to this (explaining it)?
Thanks!
1) All dogs are not brown
2) Not all dogs are brown
Which one is correct? I always thought that the (counterintuitive, to me) first option was correct English. But I'm not 100% sure. There is a Family Guy episode which is called "Not all dogs go to heaven", so now I'm confused. Which one is correct? Is there a webpage devoted to this (explaining it)?
Thanks!
Top answer
1) All dogs are not brown = some dogs are other colours OR no dogs are brown. 2) Not all dogs are brown = some dogs are other colours. Use #2 and avoid ambiguity.
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1) All dogs are not brown = some dogs are other colours OR no dogs are brown.
2) Not all dogs are brown = some dogs are other colours.
Use #2 and avoid ambiguity.
2) Not all dogs are brown = some dogs are other colours.
Use #2 and avoid ambiguity.
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