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The student was sick for days. Fortunately, someone could lend him her notes. His classmate Mary.

I think the second sentence could be interpreted as:

a. Fortunately, there was someone who was available to help the student (but that person hadn't helped the student yet).

b. Fortunately, someone was in the position to help the student (and that person did help him).

Does this ambiguity exist? If so, how to remove the ambiguity?

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    Yes, I think it does. You could get round it by saying, for (a), "Fortunately, there was someone who could/might lend him their notes."
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Aug 25, 2021 at 12:53
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    could here = was able to. And was able to would be better.
    – Lambie
    Commented Aug 25, 2021 at 15:13
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    In practice I see no scope for ambiguity here. It's like suggesting that if the theatre usher says could you follow me to your seats, they're actually inviting you to tell them whether you're capable of doing what has been suggested. Any such interpretation would be childish and/or pointlessly pedantic, just as it would be ridiculous to suppose that Mary might not lend her notes to the student who'd been off sick. And I'd say my position here is unambiguously supported by Grice's Maxims
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Aug 25, 2021 at 18:04
  • Clearly, there was ambiguity in the mind of alexchencko. Remember, the people posting here generally don't have the advantage of a native speaker's knowledge of conventions for English language usage.
    – dwilli
    Commented Aug 26, 2021 at 15:08

2 Answers 2

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Yes, there is ambiguity there and the way to remove it is to add more context. By the way, the phrase, 'His classmate Mary.' is not a sentence by itself, but it is a good place to provide the necessary context for understanding.

I can think of at least one other interpretation of the ambiguous communication. The word 'could' might mean that the other students were able or had permission to help.

The student was sick for days. Fortunately, someone could lend him her notes. His classmate Mary offered her help when he returned.

The student was sick for days. Fortunately, someone could lend him her notes. His classmate Mary could have helped, but decided not to because she didn't like him.

The student was sick for days. Fortunately, someone could lend him her notes. His classmate Mary knew that the teacher approved of the students helping each other.

The student was sick for days. Fortunately, someone could lend him her notes. His classmate Mary had made a copy of her notes, anticipating just such a situation.

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You could remove the ambiguity by changing the verb.

Nobody has helped yet:

The student was sick for days. Fortunately, someone might lend him her notes, his classmate Mary.

Somebody has helped:

The student was sick for days. Fortunately, someone did lend him her notes, his classmate Mary.

Somebody is able to help:

The student was sick for days. Fortunately, someone can lend him her notes, his classmate Mary.

Somebody is going to help:

The student was sick for days. Fortunately, someone will lend him her notes, his classmate Mary.

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