Questions tagged [ambiguity]
This tag is for questions about the multiple meanings of a word, or phrase.
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Meaning of "A/B and C/D" -- clear or ambiguous?
I saw this sentence in Cypher, in which game you try to break various cyphers.
Swap columns 1/2 and 3/4 of each block.
I didn't know whether it meant "Swap the 1st column for the 2nd column and ...
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Is more always an adjective when it precedes what it modifies?
The title is an answer in this forum repackaged as a question. Is it always so clear?
Consider the statement “There were more intelligent physicists than Albert Einstein.” Some physicists were even ...
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I had just missed your call
When John walked in, I had just missed your call.,
Does that mean
When John walked in, I had missed your call by a very narrow margin. I almost managed to get it.
or
I had missed your call a moment ...
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Can "he used to smoke with me" mean either we smoked together or he smoked but I didn't?
a. He used to smoke with me.
Can't (a) have two meanings?
He used to smoke together with me. He and I smoked together.
He used to smoke when with me. (I didn't smoke)
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waited for them to arrive
a. I waited for the police to open the door.
b. I waited until the police arrived to open the door.
Can we tell who is going to open the door, the speaker or the police?
Many thanks
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the files on Kennedy and Marilyn
a. They are going to publish the CIA files on Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe.
Can't that sentence have two meanings:
They are going to publish the CIA files on Kennedy and those on Marilyn Monroe.
They ...
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Is "Disabled badge holder electric vehicle recharging point only" ambiguous?
Is there any confusion about the following sign text?
Disabled badge holder electric vehicle recharging point only
Is the wording ambiguous? Could it be interpreted as:
Disabled badge holder or ...
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Is was shocked adj or passive voice.?
Is was shocked adj or passive voice.?
As she was shocked by the sad news,she didn't know what to do next.
I really confused was shocked in this sentence is whether adj or passive voice.
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Semantically vague sentence (I think?)
I spotted it in a junk shop in Bridport, a roll-top desk. The man said it was early nineteenth century, and oak.
I think the author can use "be+of" here, but why only "be"???
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"I don't believe anything that he says is true"
a. I do not believe that anything he says is true.
Isn't that sentence ambiguous?
First meaning: I believe that nothing he says is true.
Second meaning: I do not believe that just anything he says is ...
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Janet is going on a vacation. (is this progressive or future?)
Janet is going on a vacation.
I saw this sentence on internet. Is Janet now, at this moment, going on a vacation? Or, does Janet have a plan to go on a vacation very soon?
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Can I rephrase this sentence like this?
Plants die if there's no oxygen because plants need oxygen.
Because plants need oxygen, plants die, if there's no oxygen.
If there's no oxygen, plants die, because plants need oxygen.
Can I ...
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Is "the Fed sells government bonds" ambiguous?
Source
Why is the Government Buying Long-Term Bonds?
When Fed policymakers decide that they want to raise interest rates,
the Fed sells government bonds*.
the Fed sells government bonds
Does that ...
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accused me of lying justifiably
a. He accused me of lying justifiably.
Is the above sentence ambiguous?
I think that in theory it means:
b. He accused me of justifiably lying.
but I think in practice it can also mean (people use it ...
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I'd risk my life for any of you
a. I risked my life for Jeff, and I want you to know that I'd risk my life for every one of you.
b. I risked my life for Jeff, and I want you to know that I'd risk my life for each of you.
c. I risked ...
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Is “should” sometimes ambiguous between “if” and “ought to”?
I know that nowadays in American informal English “should” almost always means “ought to”, as in “I should treat my family well”, but that it can also mean “if” or “in the event that”, as in “Should ...
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"How do you [do something]?" but asking about the listener's case specifically
For example, I want to ask how to use a device, not about its general usage, but for the listener's case specifically.
If I say "How do you use the device?", the listener would explain the ...
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Two questions about the 4th verse of "The Star-Spangled Banner"
4th verse of "The Star-Spangled Banner":
O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation.
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued ...
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Is the comparison "There are no people in this room as in that room." ambiguous? [closed]
There are no people in this room as in that room.
Out of context, I want to know if this structure is ambiguous. Can "As in that room" be read as either:
there are people in that room
...
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Who had a happy look in "I saw Julie sitting beside her mother with a happy look on her face"?
In the following sentence, who has the happy look on her face, Julie or her mother?
I saw Julie sitting beside her mother with a happy look on her face.
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Financial returns for nothing or anything
You owe me nothing in return vs. you don't owe me anything in return
Could there be a difference in meaning between those?
That is, might the first sentence have the cunning sense of "since I was ...
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without telling me
a. There are places where you can't go without telling me.
Does that mean:
You have to tell me that you are going there before you go.
or
You have to tell me that you have gone there after going ...
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was gladly sent to Italy
a. He was gladly sent to Italy.
Could one use that sentence is he was the one who was glad about his being sent to Italy.
As far as I know, the adverb refers to the doer of the action, but I don't ...
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Usage of "of" followed by "and"
Here is a sentence. "They’ve asked how your diary looks at the end of this week and next."
Does it mean they are asking how my diary looks at the end of this week and at the end of next week?...
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Why are the abstract nouns in the following examples countable or uncountable? There seems to be no applicable rule
I read through this website forum and others regarding abstract nouns and whether they are countable or uncountable. This link Abstract nouns: countable and uncountable provides an answer but it doesn'...
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Is this use of "protect from" ambiguous?
For this sentence
boys fighting to protect their own insecurities from the world
I think it means "insecurities" has to be hidden away from the world [1]
However could it also be ...
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Is this sentence ambiguous? "He told me when to leave."
"He told me when to leave."
At first sight, I interpreted this sentence as " He told me when I should leave." in case "told" means 'to order."
However, at a second ...
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for three thousand dollars
Have you ever turned down job offers?
a. Yes. If I don't like a job, I won't take it. I have turned down many job offers. As a matter of fact, yesterday, I turned down one for three thousand dollars a ...
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as our enemies are joining forces
a. As our enemies are joining forces, so should we.
b. We should join forces as our enemies are.
c. We should join forces, as our enemies are.
Which could mean
We should join forces because our ...
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How to identify ambiguous sentence?
'The theoretical arguments regulating home schooling begin from this point.'
I have no idea why this sentence is ambiguous. Although the answer says 'It leaves the reader guessing whether the ...
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2
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doesn't know if one of his neighbors
a. He doesn't know if someone has entered his apartment in his absence.
b He doesn't know if a neighbor has entered his apartment in his absence.
c. He doesn't know if one of his neighbors has entered ...
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Is “When you exit the gate, on the right hand side, a homeless person is there” a well formed sentence?
Settling a debate about the following sentence:
“When you exit the gate, on the right hand side, a homeless person is there.”
The sentence was spoken verbally, if that changes things.
I feel that at ...
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Why "It was a secret, of which no one knows." ⇏ "No one of this secret knows."?
[2iii] It was a secret, of which no one knows.
= [2iv] No one knows of this secret. (NOT: No one of this secret knows.)
In his answer above, why did Damkerng T. eliminate
No one of this secret ...
user8712
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didn't know that one of my friends was
a. She didn't know that one of my friends was a policeman.
b. She didn't know that two of my friends were policemen.
Is it possible that I had other friends who were policemen but she knew about them?
...
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each of us might get fired [closed]
a. Each of us might get fired tomorrow.
b. We might each get fired tomorrow.
================
c. All of us might get fired tomorrow.
d. We might all get fired tomorrow.
===================
e. Every ...
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How to interpret this movie title: "Live is Life"?
There is a Netflix title: "Live is Life".
I can't wrap my head around it. Would that be something like:
1 - "to live means life"?
OR
2 - "energic is the life"?
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repetitive actions: present perfect or present perfect continuous?
I have a question about repetitive actions.
I've read in many books and article that we use Present Perfect for repetitive actions.
like:
I have eaten squid 3 times.
but today, when I was reading ...
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1
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Pete's and Tom's computers
a. Pete's and Tom's computers were stolen.
Could the sentence be used if each had one computer?
Could the sentence be used if one had one computer and the other had more?
Could the sentence be used if ...
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his guests would notice it
a. Jeff's friends went to Sally's place and talked to her father.
Does that necessarily mean all of Jeff's friends went to Sally's place and talked to her father?
b. I knew that if I gave the flash ...
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a priest and a historian
a. He was the son of a priest and a historian.
Could one use that sentence if his one of his parents was both a priest and a historian?
Or would that have to be
b. He was the son of a priest and ...
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Ambiguity in sentence
Can different phrases be related to a same noun, modifying it and how to avoid ambiguity? E.g I remember man playing guitar that (this clause is related to "man", not "guitar") ...
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How to find the correct form of verb in ambiguous subjects.?
Neelima, my best friend / and the Head of this department / are leaving / on Monday./no error
I came across this sentence in my exam, I couldn't figure out if the head of this department and Neelima ...
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What is the difference between a sentence starting with “the percentage” vs only a percentage?
Do these two sentences have the same meaning?
“98% of people who know about Hippos would agree that they’re the deadliest land animal
“The 98% of people who know about hippos would agree that they’...
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Adjectives and ambiguity in meaning
Read the following sentence:
The lazy people of our family like this car.
Does the word "lazy" in the phrase "the lazy people of our house" only refer to the group of people that ...
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they only care about themselves
These people only care about themselves.
Is this sentence ambiguous?
Each of them cares for himself or herself
They care about themselves as a group and take care of each other.
I'd think it would ...
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how good is your relationship with them?
How many of your high school friends are you still in touch with and how good is your relationship with them?
Is the above sentence grammatical and meaningful?
Does 'them' refer to 'your high school ...
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told me about the way
a. He told me how he was arrested.
b. He told me about how he was arrested.
c. He told me the way he was arrested.
d.He told me about the way he was arrested.
I know (a) could have two meanings. It ...
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in "its battery pack restricted cargo space", is the battery or cargo space limited?
Please help me with this one especially because it's stressing me out big time.
The text goes: "The vehicle was the second mass-produced hybrid on the American market, after the two seat Honda ...
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What is the meaning of the word "posting" in this sentence?
One form, the OSHA no. 200 serves a dual purpose. it is used as the Log of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, on which the occurrence and extent of cases are recorded during the year and as the ...
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Can something be incomplete without starting something first?
I'm just curious about this word. The definition of incomplete is:
not having all the necessary or appropriate parts.
not full or finished.
Spooffie