Cette idée ne les a vraiment pas emballés.
vs
Cette idée ne les a pas vraiment emballés.
I wonder if the difference in meaning between "really not" and "not really" in English applies to French as well.
asked Feb 19, 2016 at 17:09
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La première version insiste sur le pas, elle rejette l'idée, la seconde qui indique que l'idée n'est pas acceptée, mais qu'elle n'est pas obligatoirement rejetée.– PersonneFeb 19, 2016 at 18:07
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1"vraiment pas" is strong, and "pas vraiment" is soft :)– RandomFeb 19, 2016 at 18:17
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Yes. On a sidenote, there is a case "really" doesn't translate as "vraiment", and it's when it means "actually" : "*I thought he was ... but he was really ...". In that case you say "en fait" (casual), or "en réalité" (a little more formal).– Teleporting GoatDec 15, 2016 at 9:30
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2 Answers
Yes. “Pas vraiment” means that the statement is more false than true, it can mean “to a small extent” or it can be a weak “not” (literally, it refutes “vraiment” which would be an intensifier). “Vraiment pas” insists on the negation. The distinction is the same as in English: “pas vraiment” = “not really”, “vraiment pas” = “really not”.
answered Feb 19, 2016 at 20:47
Gilles 'SO nous est hostile'Gilles 'SO nous est hostile'
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@Gilles has the answer nailed, but I think the reasoning behind it bears mentioning. In this case:
Cette idée ne les a vraiment pas emballés.
the word vraiment is acting as an adverb to the word pas. Therefore, graphically, it would have to be represented as:
( vraiment -> pas ) -> emballés
vs
Cette idée ne les a pas vraiment emballés.
where vraiment is acting as a defining adverb of emballés. Therefore, the graphic representation of that would be:
vraiment -> ( pas -> emballés )
answered Dec 14, 2016 at 21:05
