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a. She didn't know that I had seen some of her paintings.
b. She didn't know that I had seen certain of her paintings.
c. She didn't know that I had seen any of her paintings.
I think (c) is clear. But do (a) and (b) mean the same?
Could they be used if she knew that I had seen some of the paintings, but she did not know that I had seen certain other ones. She knew I had seen paintings A, B, C and D but she did not know that I had also seen paintings E, F, G and H. In other words, could either of these sentences be used instead of:
d. There were certain of her paintings that she did not know I had seen.
Many thanks.
azz
Posted 2016-08-12T23:42:11.167
Reputation: 1 053
Maybe, but I would prefer "certain paintings", as in "b. She didn't know that I had seen certain paintings of hers. I would leave out the "of hers" if it is already implied. – user3169 – 2016-08-13T00:34:09.893
They are all clear, no two mean the same thing and I'm sorry to point out that "There were certain of her paintings that she did not know I had seen" would be worth less than the trouble it took to justify.
Could you step back and explain how far you got with dictionaries and search engines before they let you down? – Robbie Goodwin – 2020-06-06T21:53:05.637