Dictionary of English - not

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The position of not within a sentence can substantially affect the meaning of the sentence.

Not all and not every imply 'some': Not all his novels were bestsellers (but some of them were). If not comes after all or every, it can have the same meaning, but it is also open to the interpretation 'none': All his novels were not bestsellers (but some of them were or none of them were). When you speak, you can make clear which you mean by the way you say it, but in writing that is not possible, so if there is any danger of real ambiguity, it is best to recast the sentence.

Not can also present problems when it is used with because. Does We didn't appoint him because of his age mean that his age was not the reason why we appointed him, or that because he was too young or too old we didn't appoint him? If there is a genuine possibility that both interpretations could be made, it is better to rewrite the sentence in an unambiguous form.

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