2
  1. He doesn't have breakfast every day.
  2. He doesn't have breakfast at all.
  3. He sometimes eats breakfast, and he sometimes doesn't eat breakfast.

Does #1 mean #2 or #3?

2 Answers 2

1

#1 means #3.

"He dosen't have breakfast" would mean #2.

"Every day he donsn't have breakfast" would also mean #2.

The negative in 'dosen't' is applied to 'every day'.

Another way to frame the question would be: "He has breakfast, but not every day".

0
0

He does not have breakfast everyday means He has sometimes breakfast.

He does not have breakfast at all means He never has break fast.

He sometimes eats breakfast means he sometimes does not eat breakfast.

only the second sentence means that he does never have breakfast.

The first and the third sentence mean almost the same.

7
  • “He does not have breakfast every day” does not mean he sometimes has breakfast. It’s ambiguous. He might never have breakfast. Oct 1, 2019 at 12:40
  • I do not think so.He does not eat breakfast everyday does not mean that he never eats breakfast. Oct 1, 2019 at 12:43
  • I do not think so.He does not eat breakfast everyday does not mean that he never eats breakfast. Oct 1, 2019 at 12:45
  • In fact, it is ambiguous. You can’t draw a conclusion about how often the person eats breakfast— only that it’s not every day. Oct 1, 2019 at 12:50
  • If it is not everyday means some days Oct 1, 2019 at 13:02

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