[color=red]1-They were going apart from each other.
[color=blue]2-They were running apart from each other.
[color=indigo]3-They were moving apart from each other.
Can’t these sentences have two meanings:
a-They were putting greater distance between each other (the obvious meaning)
b-They were moving on parallel lines which were at a distance from each other.
Gratefully,
Navi.
I would understand them all to mean (a).
I would expect the word ‘parallel’ (or ‘equidistant’) in place of ‘apart’ if the meaning were (b)
I dislike the use of ‘going’ in the first sentence. It sounds stilted and awkward, as if the speaker cannot find a better word to describe the action.
Thank you very much Beeesneees for all your kind and precise replies.
What do you think of these
[color=blue]2a-They were running far apart from each other.
[color=indigo]3a-They were moving far apart from each other.
[color=brown]4a-They were walking far apart from each other.
Do these mean:
a-They were putting greater distance between each other
or:
b-They were moving on parallel lines which were at a distance from each other.
Gratefully,
Navi.
Interesting!
With the addition of ‘far’ as a determining distance I would consider those to be more likely to mean (b) than to mean (a).
I would expect to see ‘farther/further’ to mean (a)