What is 也 doing here?

[HashiriKata]

Hi,

Some small things in grammar often bother (read as "interest") me, so can someone help?

In the context where someone asks "Do Chinese people like such & such", the reply is:

也不都是。

I know the bit 不都是 (not all do), but what is 也 doing here? What difference will it make (even if minor) with and without adding 也 in this phrase?

Thanks,

HK

[madizi]

I think that better formulation would be 也不是, without 都. Or maybe even better: 不一定.

[Koneko]

也不定。

[HashiriKata]

Thank you for replying but I think I may have been misunderstood.

I think 不都是(not all of them do) and 也不定(also not certain/difficult to say) have very different meanings. What I want to know is what difference it make to add 也 in front of 不都是 to be come:

也不都是.

(This is not my own phrase but is one I saw in a textbook and I got curious.)

[Koneko]

不都是 = Not at all

也不都是 = Not exactly

[HashiriKata]

Thank you again Koneko, your name reminds me of the original question that came with the phrase I'm asking about:

中国人喜欢养猫吗？(Do Chinese people like (raising) cats? )

也不都是 (Not all do) (?)

I hope the context will now clarify the meaning of the reply 也不都是.

[Koneko]

ハシリカタさん、

日本語ができますか？

小猫より

[HashiriKata]

すこししかできませんが...

[xiaomawang]

"也不都是" means there's some exceptionals, whereas the majority, in general, being thought/expected in a certain way. e.g.

A: '男孩子都是粗心大意的'

B: '也不都是, 他就很細心'

"不都是" however, does not imply a big contrast.

[skylee]

In that context, 也不都是 = 不全是

[HashiriKata]

Thank you, Xiaomawang and Skylee. I think I'm almost getting there .

"不都是" however, does not imply a big contrast

Can you elaborate a little? "a big contrast" with what? Do you mean adding 也 makes the statement a little more emphatic in this context?

In that context, 也不都是 = 不全是

But I think 不都是 is also = 不全是. So what difference does the adding of 也 make?

Sorry for being so particular.

[HashiriKata]

After going through various definitions in a big dictionary, I think I've got it. One of them says that 也 is added to make the negation / affirmation a bit milder (使句子带上委婉的语气，减弱肯定或否定程度), and an example was given:

这个道理我也不是不懂。

Thanks all again for their contributions.