"isn't really" vs "really isn't"
He isn't really angry - he's just pretending
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/really
I found this example in the Cambridge dictionary.
Does "he isn't really angry" have exactly the same meaning as "he really isn't angry"?
Could you help me, please?
Thanks
Top answer
This is a headache to answer, made more difficult because these sentences potentially have multiple interpretations, depending on stress, tone of voice and/or general context. Probably no two people will give you exactly the same answer. The main interpretations of "He isn't really angry" that come to my mind are (i) Despite what you might have thought / how he might have seemed, in fact he isn't genuinely angry, at least not seriously so; and (ii) He may be somewhat angry but he is not greatly angry.
- This is a headache to answer, made more difficult because these sentences potentially have multiple interpretations, depending on stress, tone of voice and/or general context.
- Probably no two people will give you exactly the same answer.
- The main interpretations of "He isn't really angry" that come to my mind are (i) Despite what you might have thought / how he might have seemed, in fact he isn't genuinely angry, at least not seriously so; and (ii) He may be somewhat angry but he is not greatly angry.
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This is a headache to answer, made more difficult because these sentences potentially have multiple interpretations, depending on stress, tone of voice and/or general context. Probably no two people will give you exactly the same answer.
The main interpretations of "He isn't really angry" that come to my mind are (i) Despite what you might have thought / how he might have seemed, in fact
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