comparative-"than anyone else" & "than everyone else"
Tacia
(1) Tom is taller than anyone else in his class.
(2) Tom is taller than everyone else in his class.
Do these two sentence mean the same thing (Tom is the tallest in his
class)?
I fail to detect the differences. :-(
(3) The best weaver should have a larger coat than anyone else.
(Quoted from /Gorgias/ by Plato and Robin Waterfiel)
(4) Julius was less affected than anyone else by the treatment
program.
(Quoted from /The Drinking Man/ by David Clarence McClelland)
If I changed "anyone" to "everyone" in (3) and (4), would the meanings
differ? Can anyone specify the different meanings?
(5) Roosevelt was president from 1933 to 1945, longer than anyone else
in American history.
If I changed "anyone" to "everyone" in (5), I can sense the meaning
would be different, but I cannot specify the differences. The changed
version just does not make sense, does it?
--
Tacia
CDB
> (1) Tom is taller than anyone else in his class.
> (2) Tom is taller than everyone else in his class.
> Do these two sentence mean the same thing (Tom is the tallest in his
> class)?
> I fail to detect the differences. :-(
> (3) The best weaver should have a larger coat than anyone else.
> (Quoted from /Gorgiası/ by Plato and Robin Waterfiel)
> (4) Julius was less affected than anyone else by the treatment
> program.
> (Quoted from /The Drinking Manı/ by David Clarence McClelland)
>
> If I changed "anyone" to "everyone" in (3) and (4), would the
> meanings differ? Can anyone specify the different meanings?
There would be no practical difference (although it would sound a
little less "right", in my opinion), because the things being compared
(largeness of coat, degree of being affected) are characteristic of a
single person.
> (5) Roosevelt was president from 1933 to 1945, longer than anyone
> else in American history.
> If I changed "anyone" to "everyone" in (5), I can sense the meaning
> would be different, but I cannot specify the differences. The
> changed version just does not make sense, does it?
What is being compared here, length of time in office, is on the
borderline. You feel the difference because it is just possible that
the sentence might mean FDR was in office longer than all the other
presidents put together, although such a statement would make no sense
in context. There would be a more important difference between "Tom
has more money than anyone else in his class," and "Tom has more money
than everyone else in his class," because in the second example it is
possible that you mean he has more money than all his classmates put
together.
In informal English, you may often see the two forms used
interchangeably, with the speaker relying on context and common sense
to indicate the proper choice of meanings, but it is usually possible
to avoid ambiguity by using a different turn of phrase.
Mark Brader
> (1) Tom is taller than anyone else in his class.
> (2) Tom is taller than everyone else in his class.
>
> Do these two sentence mean the same thing (Tom is the tallest in his
> class)?
Yes.
> I fail to detect the differences. :-(
Sentence 1 asks you to imagine a number of separate two-way comparisons
between Tom and one classmate at a time.
Sentence 2 asks you to imagine a multi-way comparison of the whole class
at once.
But the result is the same.
> (3) The best weaver should have a larger coat than anyone else.
> (Quoted from /Gorgiası/ by Plato and Robin Waterfiel)
>
> (4) Julius was less affected than anyone else by the treatment
> program.
> (Quoted from /The Drinking Manı/ by David Clarence McClelland)
>
> If I changed "anyone" to "everyone" in (3) and (4), would the meanings
> differ? Can anyone specify the different meanings?
In sentence 3, if you use "everyone", people may wonder if there is
a single coat that belongs to everyone collectively. They they will
decide that that doesn't make sense and get the correct meaning.
> (5) Roosevelt was president from 1933 to 1945, longer than anyone else
> in American history.
>
> If I changed "anyone" to "everyone" in (5), I can sense the meaning
> would be different, but I cannot specify the differences. The changed
> version just does not make sense, does it?
This time when you say "everyone", you give the impression that
everyone gets to be president sometime -- otherwise how could you
be simultaneously comparing the lengths of all their terms? That's
what doesn't make sense.
Of course, you may argue that the original version doesn't make sense
either, for the same reason! But it's certainly acceptable as it stands.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "I don't have a life; I have a program." --the Doctor
m...@vex.net | (Michael Piller, Star Trek: Voyager, "Tattoo")
My text in this article is in the public domain.
Tacia
> Tacia writes:
> > (1) Tom is taller than anyone else in his class.
> > (2) Tom is taller than everyone else in his class.
>
> > Do these two sentence mean the same thing (Tom is the tallest in his
> > class)?
>
> Yes.
>
> > I fail to detect the differences. :-(
>
> Sentence 1 asks you to imagine a number of separate two-way comparisons
> between Tom and one classmate at a time.
>
> Sentence 2 asks you to imagine a multi-way comparison of the whole class
> at once.
>
> But the result is the same.
Thanks for clarifying that!
CBD wrote:
> In informal English, you may often see the two forms used
> interchangeably, with the speaker relying on context and common sense
> to indicate the proper choice of meanings, but it is usually possible
> to avoid ambiguity by using a different turn of phrase.
Got it!
Merry Christmas.