"Everything" in a negative sentence

Question

Is it possible to say, "Everything is what I've never seen before."?Does it mean "I've never seen any of these things before."?

Clive · Accepted Answer

No, that's just nonsense.

CalifJim · Answer

SnappyEverything is what I've never seen before.

When the subject contains a universal quantifier (all, everything, everybody, every person, each, both, etc.) and a negation in the verb phrase, it is almost always ambiguous in meaning, and it should be changed by moving the negation into the subject.

This move allows two different possibilities with different meanings:

All of the students are not here today. [defective structure]
>
None of the students are here today. / Not all of the students are here today.

Everybody doesn't like this bitter medicine. [defective structure]
>
Nobody likes this bitter medicine. / Not everybody likes this bitter medicine.

Everything here looks the same as I've never seen it before. [defective structure]
>
Nothing here looks the same as I've seen it before. / Not everything here looks the same as I've seen it before.

Both puppies haven't opened their eyes yet. [defective structure]
>
Neither puppy has opened its eyes yet. / Only one puppy has opened its eyes.

(Note how the solution with 'both' differs from the others.)

CJ

"Everything" in a negative sentence

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions