[color=red]1-My books were stolen.
[color=indigo]2-Someone stole my books.
[color=blue]3-I lost my books.
Do any of these imply that all of my books were stolen/I lost all of my books?
Gratefully,
Navi.
No, I think it just means some of your books got stolen.
If you want to mean all of them, you need to say : All [of] my books.
Beeesneees,
- Some my books were stolen.
- Some books of mine were stolen.
- Some of my books were stolen.
Are all correct?
Thanks.
To me, “my books” does not mean “all of my books”. It could mean the books that were given to you for example.
PS:
“Lost” does not mean “stolen”. You can lose your books in a fire for instance.
This one is incorrect.
Thank you very much Our Tort System,
Yes. The sentences do not have the same meaning. But when I say ‘my books’ I am somehow referring to a set of books, aren’t I? The set might be determined by the context. If I have books in my backpack and I lose them, I might say ‘I lost my books.’ and that would be understandable. Or if someone steals them, I might say ‘Someone stole my books.’ But if I lose only some of the books of that set, could I say: ‘I lost my books’? And if someone steals only some of those books, could I say: ‘Someone stole my books.’?
To me, the sentences sort of imply ‘all of my books’, but what is meant by ‘all’ depends on the context. If I go on a trip and carry three suitcases of books with me, and if one of them goes missing, I would not say ‘I lost my books.’ But if the three go missing, then I would, although I might have more books at home.
Gratefully,
Navi.
If you lost more than one book, you can say ‘I’ve lost my books’ regardless of whether they were part of a set or not.
It does imply that you lost them all. If only some were missing most people would say, ‘I’ve lost some (of my) books’.
Beeesneees,
Please answer my query.
Thanks.
Waiyin Cheng already has.