- Does the sentence mean Mary likes the dog which is eating bones or it mean Mary finds the idea of the dog eating bones attractive and she likes it?
- Does the sentence deliberately ambiguous or it completely clear and it's just my matter of not figuring out?
- If the sentence ambiguous, how can the sentence adjusted to avoid ambiguity?
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1The sentence is ambiguous. Both of the meanings that you suggest are valid. We can't guess what was going on inside the writer's head, especially as you haven't told us who wrote it. Please provide a link to the place where you found this text. The sentence can be made clearer by writing it in one of the two ways that you have suggested.– JavaLatteCommented Oct 15, 2019 at 4:46
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2Yes, it's ambiguous. And you essentially answered your final question in the first question when you rephrased it yourself.– Jason BassfordCommented Oct 15, 2019 at 4:47
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You asking "Does the sentence deliberately ambiguous or it completely clear and it's just my matter of not figuring out?" tells me you read this sentence somewhere. Where is it from?– AIQCommented Oct 15, 2019 at 8:41
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1 Answer
I concur with both JavaLatte and Jason Bassford. It is ambiguous.
It could mean
There are 5 dogs in a dog park. 4 of them are running around. And one is eating bones. Mary likes the dog that is eating bones.
or
Mary likes it when her dog eats bones.
