Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Which sentence would be correct?

31 replies

Emcont · 28/04/2020 22:54

I know IABU but it's bugged me for a long time. Which one is 'correct' and which one do you say?

A) Not everybody is going to like you.

Or

B) Everybody is not going to like you.

I would say A..

OP posts:
Brogley · 28/04/2020 22:55

A.

B just sounds wrong.

Seetheprettysnowdrops · 28/04/2020 22:56

It depends

The first one would imply that some might like it but not everybody

The second one is more clear cut. Everybody won't like it.

DurhamDurham · 28/04/2020 22:56

The two sentences don't mean the same thing so it depends upon context. If you mean that not everyone will like you then it would be A. B means literally no one likes you......doesn't it?!

CheriLittlebottom · 28/04/2020 22:56

A.

B is a mess.

justanotherneighinparadise · 28/04/2020 22:56

I would say A

Katinski · 28/04/2020 22:56

A

cardibach · 28/04/2020 22:56

They mean two different things, so it would depend what I meant.
A) means some people will like you, some won’t.
B) means nobody will like you, but it clumsily phrased. Should be Everyone is going to dislike you.

Boredsheep · 28/04/2020 22:57

A

FlamingoAndJohn · 28/04/2020 22:57

A would say to me that some people will like you.
B Would make me think that no one is going to like you.

spottystriped · 28/04/2020 22:59

Should it not be “everyone” in sentence B?

Original poster
Emcont · 28/04/2020 22:59

Okay, yes @cardibach worded that better!

B sould be 'Everybody is not going to dislike you' rather than A - 'Not everybody is going to like you'

OP posts:
EL8888 · 28/04/2020 23:00

A

PurpleDaisies · 28/04/2020 23:00

They mean different things.

PurpleDaisies · 28/04/2020 23:02

Cross posted.

What are you actually trying to say?

ChangeThePassword · 28/04/2020 23:03

Is it just me that would use everyone rather than everybody in those sentences? For some reason, everybody seems clunkier.

And yes, definitely A.

notangelinajolie · 28/04/2020 23:03

A

cardibach · 28/04/2020 23:03

Everybody is not going to dislike you is the opposite of what it says though.
What is it you are actually trying to say? Are all the people going to dislike you or only some of them?

Dinosforall · 28/04/2020 23:04

On your update, they mean basically the same, but the emphasis is different; in A you are debunking the expectation of being liked by everyone, in B, disliked by everybody.

ThrowingGoodAfterBad · 28/04/2020 23:05

Still mean slightly different things with re-wording so would be employed in different contexts. "Everybody is not going to dislike you" would be a possible response to someone going to a social affair as a stranger or going on stage and needing some bracing reassurance against anxiety. "Not everybody is going to like you" might be either a warning against overconfidence, or a comfort against one or two people not liking you in a situation, followed by something along the lines of 'so don't take it too much to heart, plenty more fish in the sea'.

Dinosforall · 28/04/2020 23:05

Clearly both carry the meaning of being liked and disliked by some of the people.

DanielRicciardosSmile · 28/04/2020 23:07

This is a bit like the "add the word 'only' to the sentence 'she told him that she loved him' ". Syntax totally changed the meaning of it.

DanielRicciardosSmile · 28/04/2020 23:08

*changes

Cyllie33 · 28/04/2020 23:11

In your OP they mean different things so it would depend what I wanted to say!

MillicentMartha · 28/04/2020 23:26

Still not sure what you want to say but,

Not everyone is going to dislike you...
Or
They are not all going to dislike you...

might be better.

indemMUND · 28/04/2020 23:26

A is more clear and to the point

Swipe left for the next trending thread