doesn't understand everything

[navi tasan]

A says: "What does he not understand?"

B replies: "He doesn't understand everything."

Could B's reply be used if the intended meaning is:

He doesn't understand anything.

Gratefully,
Navi

 

[GoesStation]

B chose "everything" to emphasize the person's lack of knowledge on every subject. "Anything" would be a less emphatic way to express the idea.

 

[probus]

"He doesn't understand everything" just means that there are some things he doesn't get, unless the context is unusual and clearly requires a different interpretation.

 

[GoesStation]

"He doesn't understand everything" just means that there are some things he doesn't get, unless the context is unusual and clearly requires a different interpretation.

That's what it means if "everything" is set in normal type. It's in italics in the quotation; that changes it to mean "whatever you can think of, he doesn't understand it."

 

[Tarheel]

Bob; What does he mot understand?
Jim: He doesn't understand anything.

That's the kind of thing you can expect.

I have said once or twice that nobody knows everything. (If nobody knows everything then nobody understands everything.)