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Assuming that a and b are correct, is the construction of c correct? Also are there better/simpler ways of conveying the same information?

a) las cortinas en toda la casa son grises. (in every room)

Meaning: "The curtains throughout the house are gray".

b) las cortinas en todas las casas son grises (in at least one room of every house)

Meaning: "The curtains in every house are gray".

c) las cortinas en toda la casa en todas las casas son grises. (in every room of every house)

Intending to mean: "The curtains throughout every house are gray".

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    I would interpret your (b) as meaning what you want (c) to mean. I would have said Algunas cortinas en cada casa to get what you want (b) to mean.
    – mdewey
    Commented Nov 28, 2017 at 17:01
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    @mdewey Is right, like in English, "las" mean "the" meaning all of them, in English you have to say "some" and in Spanish this is translated to "Algunas"
    – Mike
    Commented Nov 28, 2017 at 17:11
  • Las casas en esta zona tienen puras cortinas grises. Sounds like a town in the old East Germany, with no paint to liven up the gray cement. I know in Cuba that was because of the embargo, but I've never understood why East German apartment buildings had to look so depressing. Commented Nov 29, 2017 at 5:31

1 Answer 1

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This is how I would say each sentence, using "toda" everywhere:

a) Las cortinas son grises en toda la casa.

The curtains (all of them) are grey in all the house (i.e. every room).
Alternatively,

a) Todas las cortinas son grises en la casa.

All the curtains are grey in the house (implying every room that actually has curtains).

b) Todas las casas tienen cortinas grises.

All the houses have grey curtains. By dropping "the", you don't imply all the curtains anymore, just some of them.
You can be more explicit and say:

b) Todas las casas tienen alguna(s) cortina(s) gris(es).

All the houses have some grey curtain(s).

c) Todas las cortinas son grises en todas las casas.

All the curtains are grey in all the houses.

Notice, however, that c) doesn't logically follow from a) + b), because in a) you are referring to one house in particular, and you didn't say that all houses are the same. Just that all of them have some grey curtains.

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    I think the sentences a) and c) can be reworded to be more "natural": a) Todas las cortinas de la casa son grises. c) Todas las cortinas de todas las casas son grises.
    – user18111
    Commented Nov 28, 2017 at 18:04
  • what about En todas las cosas hay cortinas grises esto se refiere a que en la union de todas las cosas hay cortinas grises, o que debe haber cotinas grises en cada una de las csas ?, para diferenciarlo tendria que decir "entre todas las casas hay cortinas grises"?
    – Mike
    Commented Nov 30, 2017 at 18:55

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