any/every/all

[navi tasan]

1-You can't take it for granted that just any song will bring about certain emotions.
2-You can't take it for granted that every song will bring about certain emotions.
3-You can't take it for granted that all songs will bring about certain emotions.


Which of the above correspond to which of the below:

a-you have a particular set of emotions in mind, but not all songs will bring about those emotions
b-not all songs create the same set of emotions for all people
c-not all songs bring about emotions

 

[lauralie2]

Hello navi tasan,


How utterly confusing... :lol:;nevertheless, here are my choices (they may be right, they may be wrong):



1- [Not] just any song will bring about certain emotions.

a-you have a particular set of emotions in mind, but not all songs will bring about those emotions​

2 [Not] every song will bring about certain emotions.

b-not all songs create the same set of emotions for all people​

3-[Not] all songs will bring about certain emotions.

c-not all songs bring about emotions​

 

[Tdol]

Any reason for having for all people in the second choice? It seems to add a further layer of complexity.

 

[Khosro]

1-You can't take it for granted that just any song will bring about certain emotions.
2-You can't take it for granted that every song will bring about certain emotions.
3-You can't take it for granted that all songs will bring about certain emotions.


Which of the above correspond to which of the below:

a-you have a particular set of emotions in mind, but not all songs will bring about those emotions
b-not all songs create the same set of emotions for all people
c-not all songs bring about emotions

I don't approve of your a,b,c sentences as 3 interpretations for the sentences 1,2,3. Why you say "a particular set of emotions in mind" in sentence a, and as Tdol said why "for all people" in sentence b. What changes in sentences 1,2,3 is not about emotions and people , it is about songs.

Okay. Imagine Tom has 5 songs in front of him (for example on 5 cds).

1- He closes his eyes and just picks up a song. He listens to it but does not like it at all and gets upset. You tell him: "You can't take it for granted that just any song will bring about certain emotions."
"Not whatever you pick."

2- He listens to song no. 1 and likes it. Then he listens to song no. 2 and likes it. He listens to song no. 3 and does not like it and gets upset. Now you tell him:"You can't take it for granted that every song will bring about certain emotions." and you can also say:"You can't take it for granted that all songs will bring about certain emotions.".

if you say "every" your emphasize is more on the units (songs) as parts of the whole set (the 5-song set), if you say "all" your emphasize is on the whole set. But in my opinion you can use both of them for the above situation. I think If you say "every" you give more emphasize to the songs individually (one by one).

But that's my opinion. I hope other members could help you better than me if I am wrong.

 

[navi tasan]

Thank you all.

I think the problem is 'certain emotions'. It could be associated with the song:


same song=same emotions for all people (or on all occasions)
same set of emotions= all songs

I thought a native speaker would figure out the meanings of the sentences right off the bat, but apparently things are not that clear.

 

[Khosro]

Thank you all.

I think the problem is 'certain emotions'. It could be associated with the song:


same song=same emotions for all people (or on all occasions)
same set of emotions= all songs

I thought a native speaker would figure out the meanings of the sentences right off the bat, but apparently things are not that clear.

Then I guess you have no problem with "just any", "every" and "all" but you think that the meaning of "certain" is different in those 3 sentences. You want to know if "just any","every", and "all" change the meaning of "certain".

Okay, let's take a look at 2 examples. in both of them "certain" functions as an adjective and before the noun:

1- Contact with the poison means certain death.
2- The new technology has certain limitations.

Those are taken from webster online dictionary. Webster describes the first usage as:"used to say that something will definitely happen or someone will definitely do something". and the second one as:"Used to refer to someone or something that is not named specifically".

Do you thing that in one or two of your sentences "certain" could mean the same as "certain" in "certain death"?

Anyway, the distinctions you make between your a,b,c sentences are not clear to me. Perhaps you yourself, or lauralie2 or Tdol or some other experts here could explain it better.

 

[Raymott]

I thought a native speaker would figure out the meanings of the sentences right off the bat, but apparently things are not that clear.

I implied as much when I answered your original question.
https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/ask-teacher/140389-any-i.html

PS: Actually, I stated it explicitly.

 

[navi tasan]

Thanks Raymott.

I had not seen that reply. I guess the e-mail must have gone to my spam box. I thought it had received no reply.

Thanks.