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  • When they were kids I cared for them both alike. (Or both of them alike?)
  • When they were kids I cared for both of them equally. (Or them both?)
  • When they were kids I cared for each of them in an equal way.

What is the common way to say this? Maybe a different combination is correct?

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  • "When they were kids I cared for them both and treated them equally". I think it would be better to say it that way for clarity. Just my opinion though.
    – shin
    Mar 31, 2017 at 5:46
  • "Equally" and "in an equal way" mean the same thing. "Alike" has a different nuance. "Equally" goes more to a sense of fairness. You might have treated each one differently, meeting their individual needs, but they received equal love, attention, and "value". "Alike" is more literal. For example, one was a girl and one was a boy, and you did the same things with or for them, even if that may not have been what each one needed.
    – fixer1234
    Mar 31, 2017 at 6:14

1 Answer 1

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When they were kids I cared for them both equally.
When they were kids, I equally cared for them both.

is the most economical way to say what you mean, the first sentences will usually be understood to mean you had equal affection for them and treated them in the same way, the second sentence may be understood to mean you had equal affection for them.

When they were kids I cared for them both alike.

sounds slightly awkward to my ear, better might be

When they were kids I cared for them both in the same way.

Your final sentence

When they were kids I cared for each of them in an equal way.

sounds awkward using way since your probably mean the caring (treatment) was the same.

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    What about "alike"? And the other variants? Mar 31, 2017 at 6:00

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