they all don't

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navi tasan

Key Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
Persian
Home Country
Iran
Current Location
United States
1) They all don't do that.
2) All of them don't do that.

Do these mean:
a) None of them does that.
or:
b) Not all of them do that.

I think '1' and '2' are both ambiguous, but their style isn't really good, although they are not incorrect.
I think:
3) They don't all do that.
means 'b'.

Gratefully,
Navi.
 
"They don't all do that" is fine, but I despise the other two.

Instead, say:

None of them do that.
 
You could also say:

Not all of them do that.
 
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