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.
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Sign up to join this communityCette 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.
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”.
@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 )