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  • I don't like the computer gifted to me by my father that doesn't have enough RAM.

OR

  • I don't like the computer that doesn't have enough RAM gifted to me by my father.

Can I use these sentences?

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2 Answers 2

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They aren't ungrammatical, but they are a little clumsy. A likelier expression would be

I don't like the computer my father gave me because it doesn't have enough ram.

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  • So, do you think as a native speaker that saying "I don't like the computer that doesn't have enough RAM gifted to me by my father." can theoretically mean "I don't like the computer that doesn't have enough ram and that was gifted to me by my father", it is grammatically correct although there are better ways to say it?
    – Jawel7
    Commented May 3, 2021 at 23:39
  • Yes, I think so.
    – Jack O'Flaherty
    Commented May 4, 2021 at 0:11
  • Well, do you think that putting a comma before "manufactured" in the sentence " I'm talking about the car that I bought last year manufactured in Germany with high technology." change the meaning, and this also means "the car I bought last year and the car was manufactured in Germany with high technology ?
    – Jawel7
    Commented May 4, 2021 at 0:18
  • @Jawel Yes, I think so. But it would be more understandable as two sentences: I'm talking about the car I bought last year. It was manufactured in Germany using high technology.
    – Jack O'Flaherty
    Commented May 4, 2021 at 1:54
  • @Jawel and Jack (Regarding the third comment about comma) There is a concept of Restrictive vs Non-restrictive. Non-restrictive modification is just like a supplement, on the other hand a restrictive one is integrated properly with the head to identify the head. For example: Call my younger brother., where younger is not a supplement but a key modifier to identify the head - brother, provided that I have more than one brother. (continued)
    – Man_From_India
    Commented May 4, 2021 at 7:11
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Please see my answer to your earlier question.

Neither sentence is clear.

The first seems to say you don't like the computer your father, who hasn't enough RAM, gave you.

The second says your father gave you some RAM. It was installed into at least two computers but one of them didn't get enough and you don't like that one.

I agree with Jack's solutions. They are what I would say. Neither of them uses "that", btw.

It is possible to write grammatically-correct sentences that are confusing or meaningless. Clarity is what we need!

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  • In Turkish, my native language, when "I don't like the computer given to me by my father that doesn't have enough RAM." said, "that doesn't have enough ram" refer to the phrase "the computer given to me by my father", so in that way we gave two information in a row for the same noun. Also when "I don't like the computer that doesn't have enough RAM gifted to me by my father." said, we understand that the reduced relative clause "given to my by my father" refers to the phrase "the computer that doesn't have enough ram" as its antecedent. Is it impossible in English?
    – Jawel7
    Commented May 4, 2021 at 6:12
  • I had a friend who was learning Turkish. The structure of the language seemed extraordinary to me: extremely sophisticated and complex. In French you can keep adding adjectives after the noun they describe: a bear, brown, huge, hairy, angry.... In English we can say many adjectives before you know what the noun is! "The great, grey, green, greasy Limpopo River." Each has its advantages.
    – Old Brixtonian
    Commented May 4, 2021 at 6:25
  • Yes, Turkish is generally percepted by foreign learners as an extraordinarily constructed language. I agree with them on it as a native speaker as well. It's so flexible. As a result, when some said in English "I don't like the computer that doesn't have enough RAM given to me by my father." OR "The coffee that I had in Italy served to me in a shiny day is unforgettable."(intending to mean " (the coffee that I had in Italy) served to me in a shiny day..), Is it impossible for the second reducted clauses refer back to the phrases as its antecedent? or it is theoretically possible, but not used)
    – Jawel7
    Commented May 4, 2021 at 6:42
  • I would say that both the original sentences are ambiguous (at best) in theory. The first implies that my father doesn't have enough RAM, the second that the computer doesn't have enough RAM gifted by my father. Only the fact that only one meaning makes any sense makes it clear which is meant.
    – timchessish
    Commented Oct 26, 2023 at 12:08

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