Learn English – Difference in meaning between four arrangements of “not”, “both”, “either”, and “neither”

differencenegationsentence-meaning

I have four sentences:

  1. John and Joe are not both in the room.

  2. John and Joe are both not in the room.

  3. Either John or Joe is not in the room.

  4. Neither John nor Joe is in the room.

I want to know the difference in meaning between these sentences.
Specifically I want to know the difference between sentences A and B, and C and D.

Best Answer

1) If John and Joe were in the room at the same time, they would "both be in the room". Since they are not "both in the room", one or both of them is out of the room.

2) John is not in the room. Joe is not in the room. Therefore they are both "not in the room".

3) If John is in the room, Joe is not. If Joe is in the room, John is not. However, one of them is. The either/or construction implies a choice: Either A or B, but not both.

4) John is not in the room. Joe is not in the room. This can also be expressed as, John is not in the room, and neither is Joe.

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