some people like it; others hate it

[navi tasan]

1-Some people like it and others hate it.


Does this necessarily mean that all those who do not like it hate it?
Could it be used if all those who do not like it hate it?

I think:

2-Some people like it and the others hate it.

means whoever does not like it hates it.

'1' on the other hand seems ambiguous to me. Maybe there are people who neither like it nor hate it and maybe there are not.
Am I correct?

Gratefully,
Navi.

 

[Ali Hsn]

Hello!

*I AM NOT A TEACHER OR NATIVE.*

"Others" addresses a non-specific group of people.
"The others" addresses a specific group of people.

Hence, in my opinion, the context and the speaker/writer's intention in such cases is important.

Since in #1 the group of people is not specific, it cannot necessarily mean all who do not like it hate it. Probably, there are some others who have no idea about it. To convey such a meaning in such cases, I'd say: Some people like it and some others hate it.

But #2 clearly states that the remaining ones (all those who do not like it) hate it. In this case, "the others" refers to a specific group of people.

 

[Raymott]

1a. No, it doesn't mean that. It would if you had used "the others".
1b. It could be used, but it doesn't have that meaning. You'd need to use "the others".
2. Yes, you are correct.

In reality, I can't think of anything that some people like and other people hate, and no one is indifferent about. If we are talking about a small population, it's possible, but you wouldn't refer to them simply as "some people", and you'd have to know each person's attitude. For example, "Two of my children love zucchini; the others hate it."
Also, note that the often-heard claim, "You either love it or you hate it" is probably never true.

 

[emsr2d2]

I have yet to someone who is truly ambivalent/indifferent about Marmite! I think their "Love it or hate it" claim is remarkably close to being true.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Count me as a hater. ;-)

 

[bhaisahab]

I have yet to someone who is truly ambivalent/indifferent about Marmite! I think their "Love it or hate it" claim is remarkably close to being true.

I truly am indifferent to Marmite. My wife loves it so we have it in the house but I can take it or leave it.;-)

 

[SoothingDave]

I have yet to someone who is truly ambivalent/indifferent about Marmite! I think their "Love it or hate it" claim is remarkably close to being true.

If you count never trying it and never planning to, then I am indifferent.

 

[Roman55]

Count me as a hater. ;-)

I am not a teacher.

Count me as a lover. ;-)

 

[5jj]

I am one of those rare birds who have[FONT=&quot]*[/FONT] been both. In my youth, even the mention of the M-word could bring on life-threatening palpitations. Then, for some unknown reason, at the age of about 60, I had my Damascene moment, and became a believer. It has been disastrous for my financial well-being. I now have to choose between paying the exorbitant prices they charge for the yeasty nectar in Prague, or pay easyjet's silly prices for hold baggage so that I can bring over enough jars to last me until my next trip to England.

* Pedants among you may be interested to know that the has/have choice here brought the (yeasty) sweat to my brow.

 

[SoothingDave]

I have taken peanut butter on foreign assignments.

That is the American equivalent (in terms of being something you spread on things to eat which outsiders find odd).

 

[5jj]

That is the American equivalent (in terms of being something you spread on things to eat which outsiders find odd).

Once you taste Marmite, you will know that this is not true. I, personally, find some people's craving for peanut butter strange. I find the muck unpleasant but, given the choice between eating peanut butter and starving to death, I would go for the peanut butter. Marmite-loathers would look on the choice between eating Marmite and starving to death as a no-brainer - Welcome, Death!

 

[SoothingDave]

Well, we're bright enough to put sugar in it!

 

[emsr2d2]

Sugar in Marmite? :shock:

 

[SoothingDave]

Sugar in Marmite? :shock:

No, in peanut butter. When it is manufactured. That makes it more palatable, at least by my reckoning.

"People will be more likely to choose it over death if they know it's sweetened." as the old saying goes.

 

[5jj]

Did you just make up that old saying, SD?

 

[SoothingDave]

Did you just make up that old saying, SD?

You caught me.

 

[Tdol]

A spoonful of sugar helps the death go down

 

[Raymott]

Well, we're bright enough to put sugar in it!

Peanut butter and honey is my favourite. But I can take or leave Marmite/Vegemite.
Peanut butter was invariably referred to as peanut paste in Aus. in my childhood, and perhaps until 20-odd years ago.

 

[Roman55]

I am not a teacher.

Funnily enough, one of my favourites as a child was toast with a thin scraping of Marmite and then a generous layer of peanut butter over it.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Ah! A compromise position.