8-in-1 sentence - depending on emphasis

I have learned that this sentence has different meanings depending on which word is emphasized:

  1. She said she did not take his money. It was not someone else who said it.
  2. She said she did not take his money. So I believe her.
  3. She said she did not take his money. But someone else did.
  4. She said she did not take his money. ?
  5. She said she did not take his money. And thus she is still poor.
  6. She said she did not take his money. But she won it gambling.
  7. She said she did not take his money. But she took someone else's.
  8. She said she did not take his money. But she did take something else of his.

My problem is number 4. How does that differ from the rest?

And what does "She said she did not take his money" (no emphasis) mean?


  1. She said she did not take his money. ?

The emphasis is on the past tense. She did not take his money in the past.

Example

"You said you were planning to collect, so did you take his money in the end?"

"Well no, I didn't take his money on that occasion, but if he doesn't pay the protection money soon, I might."


Number 4 stresses 'did', that is, the positive action. You can think of #4 as a reply to the question "Did she or did she not (do) X?", where X is "not take his money".

Since X is expressed in the negative already, the 'did she not' part of the question results in an awkward-sounding double 'not'. Nevertheless, it illustrates that #4 has the following sense.

  • She said she refrained from taking his money. It's something that she can perhaps be proud of.