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Cho7712 Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Negation problem
When I read the material covering negation, I found a confusing pair of examples.
A. Many of the arrows didn't hit the target.
B. The target was not hit by many of the arrows.
The book says, A is not the same as B in the point of 'meaning'.
To add that B is paraphrased like this,
'Not many of the arrows hit the target.'(C)
It's quite a bit confusing to think of the connection between B and C.
What is the ultimate intention to say such as C?
and plus, "many" is among the existential(particular) quantifier?
A. Many of the arrows didn't hit the target.
B. The target was not hit by many of the arrows.
The book says, A is not the same as B in the point of 'meaning'.
To add that B is paraphrased like this,
'Not many of the arrows hit the target.'(C)
It's quite a bit confusing to think of the connection between B and C.
What is the ultimate intention to say such as C?
and plus, "many" is among the existential(particular) quantifier?
Top answer
It may depend on the analytical tools you prefer to use. From one point of view, you could say that ( A ) describes what happened to the arrows, while ( B ) and ( C ) describe what happened to the target.
- It may depend on the analytical tools you prefer to use.
- From one point of view, you could say that ( A ) describes what happened to the arrows, while ( B ) and ( C ) describe what happened to the target.
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10 Answers
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It may depend on the analytical tools you prefer to use.
From one point of view, you could say that ( A ) describes what happened to the arrows,
while ( B ) and ( C ) describe what happened to the target.
From one point of view, you could say that ( A ) describes what happened to the arrows,
while ( B ) and ( C ) describe what happened to the target.
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cho7712Many of the arrows didn't hit the target.= Many of the arrows missed the target. = Many of the arrows failed to hit the target.
cho7712The book says, A is not the same as B in the point of 'meaning'.They seem the same to me, as does C. They all seem to say the same thing.
cho7712What is the
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The meaning is the same. The difference is in grammar where: 1) in A 'the target' is an object and in B it is the subject; 2) in A the statement is said in active voice, in B in passive one. The C is a twisted form of A if said in a past context.
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Thank you for your answer, Avangi, CalifJim and Anonymous
and this is under the section 'scope of negation'.
According to the book, 'Not many of the arrows hit the target' is the sentential negation and it is interpreted as the negation to the statement ; Not (statement)
If so, "The target was not hit by many of the arrows." should be the same as above meaning? Is it natural
and this is under the section 'scope of negation'.
According to the book, 'Not many of the arrows hit the target' is the sentential negation and it is interpreted as the negation to the statement ; Not (statement)
If so, "The target was not hit by many of the arrows." should be the same as above meaning? Is it natural
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I can see it with "all", but not with "many".
All of the arrows did not hit the target has two interpretations:
All of the arrows failed to hit the target. ~ No arrow hit the target.
Not all of the arrows hit the target. ~ Only some of the arrows hit the target; some arrows did not hit the target.
CJ
All of the arrows did not hit the target has two interpretations:
All of the arrows failed to hit the target. ~ No arrow hit the target.
Not all of the arrows hit the target. ~ Only some of the arrows hit the target; some arrows did not hit the target.
CJ
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So I make it a check-up form and please let me know whether it is right or wrong.
1. 'all' and 'many' are the same category called universal quantifiers ( T )
2. 'some' and 'many' are the same category called particular quantifiers ( F )
3. Not all of the arrows hit the target. ( C )
a. It is not so that all of the arrows hit the target
b. Only some of the ar
1. 'all' and 'many' are the same category called universal quantifiers ( T )
2. 'some' and 'many' are the same category called particular quantifiers ( F )
3. Not all of the arrows hit the target. ( C )
a. It is not so that all of the arrows hit the target
b. Only some of the ar
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1. 'all' and 'many' are the same category called universal quantifiers ( T ) "all" is a universal quantifier. "many" is not.
2. 'some' and 'many' are the same category called particular quantifiers ( F ) "some" is an existential quantifier. "many" is not. I've never heard of 'particular quantifiers'.
3. Not all
2. 'some' and 'many' are the same category called particular quantifiers ( F ) "some" is an existential quantifier. "many" is not. I've never heard of 'particular quantifiers'.
3. Not all
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Thank you for your answer,
and uh, it's my embarrassing mistake. I meant both a and b.
Anyway I do appreciate your help.
and plus, It seems that 5-a is still to be very likely option. It literally means to be the negation of a statement.
Would you let me know what reason to make it incorrect?
and 'many' appears not to be involved in any category. Is there any category to i
and uh, it's my embarrassing mistake. I meant both a and b.
Anyway I do appreciate your help.
and plus, It seems that 5-a is still to be very likely option. It literally means to be the negation of a statement.
Would you let me know what reason to make it incorrect?
and 'many' appears not to be involved in any category. Is there any category to i
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5. Not some of the arrows hit the target. ( C ) - ungrammatical English
a. It is not so that some of the arrows hit the target - no way to determine this
b. If 'not' covers 'the some of the arrows', it is no way to verify its grammaticality. ??
c. both of a and c
a. It is not so that some of the arrows hit the target - no way to determine this
b. If 'not' covers 'the some of the arrows', it is no way to verify its grammaticality. ??
c. both of a and c
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