Each vs. every vs, all (part II)

Question

a. All tasks were done by three women.
b. All the tasks were done by three women.

c. Every task was done by three women.
d. Each task was done by three women.

Which of the sentences a-d mean
1. There were only three women in all and they did all there was to do
and which mean
2. There were three women per task
?

Many thanks.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

a. All tasks were done by three women. Three women together did the total job, which consisted on several tasks.
b. All the tasks were done by three women. ditto
c. Every task was done by three women. Three women worked on each task. There might have been more than three women doing the total job. That is, the three women who worked on task 1 might have been different from the three who who worked on task 2.
d. Each task was done by three women. ditto

Mister Micawber · Answer

azzWhich of the sentences a-d mean 1. There were only three women in all and they did all there was to do

They all could.

azzand which mean 2. There were three women per task

They all could.

CalifJim · Answer

azza. All tasks were done by three women. b. All the tasks were done by three women. ...

In a we refer to all tasks in the universe of discourse. In b we refer to all the tasks previously mentioned or all the tasks the speaker is talking about and assumes the listener can determine. In practical terms there is no difference.

In c and d we have the same situation as in a with regard to what tasks were done, so in effect all four say the same thing.

As for the women, not one of the sentences specifies "done by the same three women", so we can't say with certainty that the same three women did all, every, or each task. All those sentences would serve to report either situation.

CJ

Each vs. every vs, all (part II)

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