Questions tagged [attachment-ambiguity]
For questions about sentences have two different interpretations depending on which part of the sentence is modified by a different part. An example is "Police kill man with a knife." It could mean that the man who was killed had a knife, or that the police used a knife to kill a man.
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what does a prepositional phrase that follows a that clause modify?
Consider the following sentence:
As secretary, you are to set a meeting agenda that includes discussions in concert with the boss.
What word does the prepositional phrase "in concert with the ...
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"X applies to Y as well as Z." — Can it mean both "X applies to Y as well as X applies to Z" and "X applies to Y as well as Z applies to Y"?
my own sentence:
(1) X applies to Y as well as Z.
I think (1) is ambiguous and can mean two things:
(2) X applies to Y as well as X applies to Z. — If "X applies to" was omitted in (1).
(3) ...
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It doesn't mean that only the marketers made customers purchase their products/ their own products? [closed]
"He made him buy his products."
"It doesn't mean that only the marketers made customers purchase their products."
who do these possessive pronouns refer to? is it the doer who ...
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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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3
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Identifying a prepositional phrase as an adverb or adjective
I am having a difficult time identifying whether the prepositional phrase in the following sentence is acting as an adverb or an adjective. Here is the sentence:
Did they really buy all the guys ...
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2
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The disease first appeared in Japan in 1950 [closed]
How do natives interpret the following sentence? Does it mean Japan was the first place where the disease appeared, or the first case of the disease in Japan appeared in 1850, whether or not the ...
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Referring question of the phrase " in this respect" in the following sentence
For the activity of being aware is one of those, like chess in this
respect, where understanding their point is itself part of their
point.
It's seem like the phrase "in this respect" ...
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"…the form that any account must take which invokes…”? What is the antecedent of "which"?
For while it may not show that a reductive mechanistic account is
impossible, a proof that we are inescapably embodied agents to
ourselves does show the form that any account must take which
invokes ...
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1
answer
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can any grammatical rule show what is the right assertion being said here?
in the headline:
Giuliani’s Loyalty to Trump Was Born in His Darkest Moment
whose darkest moment is the author refering to, Trump's or Giuliani’s?
can that be answered just by reading this headline?
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Is "Here is a thought" used as an opinion request question?
I think it's used:
just to introduce an idea/thought —here is a thought, life is worthy;
To request an opinion of an idea/thought —here is a thought, what if we go to the cinema?. It's not a complex ...
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What does "in the evening" refer to in "Read the letter that I wrote in the evening"?
Read the letter that I wrote in the evening.
Is the above sentence read as:
(Read the (letter that I wrote in the evening)).
or
(Read the (letter that I wrote) in the evening)?
And is there a ...
violet_clearspark
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1
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don't want to die yet
I don't want to die yet.
Isn't that sentence ambiguous?
I can see two different meanings. I will present each in a context.
a) I am in pain, but I can take it. I don't want to die yet. But the pain ...
- 3,049
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How to know if the road is unassisted or the person is unassisted?
Having a text like:
A man died of hypothermia after falling on a road, seemingly unassisted. Two homeless people found him and called for help.
I think it could be a man falling unassisted
OR
A man ...
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that brother of Jane who is
a. I am talking about the brother of Jane who is a doctor.
b. I am talking about that brother of Jane who is a doctor.
c. I am talking about the brother of Jane, who is a doctor.
d. I am talking about ...
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to open the main gate
a. I have a key to open the main gate in my room.
b. I have a toy to keep the dog amused in my pocket.
Are the above sentences grammatically correct?
Obviously the main gate is not in my room and the ...
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the page of the book
a. He tore off the page of the book on which I had written my name.
I'd assume that I had written my name on the page. Is that correct?
==========================
b. He tore off the first page of ...
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'Creating a footnote or (an) endnote reference'
Beware that creating a footnote or an endnote reference from a table is not yet possible.
The above sentence is from the manual I'm working on.
My question is whether it is correct to keep an before ...
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2
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talked to the young lady,
a. I spoke to a doctor, tall and handsome.
b. I spoke to a young woman, magnificently dressed.
c. I spoke to the doctor, tall and handsome.
d. I spoke to the young woman, magnificently dressed.
Are ...
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1
answer
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"Differences between states" is fine, but "differences between provinces and territories" is ambiguous. How to remove ambiguity?
I always seem to fall into the following trap, and I would like to know what's the best way to avoid any ambiguity when comparing between different elements, where said elements belong to different ...
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What does the expression "shared drive on one of the servers that we’d put high scores on" mean here? [closed]
Here is a sentence:
I remember that we had this shared drive on one of the servers that
we’d put high scores on.
It is not clear to me if the scores were put on the drive or the server. The speaker ...
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What are the interpretations of this sentence form?
Consider these sentences:
I like movies that are not long and boring.
I like dishes that are not sweet and flavorful
He is not humble and arrogant.
According to chapter-7 of forall x: Calgary An ...
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Does the sentence "the computer on the desk broken by my little sister is mine." have two meanings?
This is the main sentence, "The computer on the desk broken by my little sister is mine."
Does it theoretically have two meanings?
What is broken by my little sister is the computer, or the ...
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having a heart problem in Germany
a. Any company that has at least two production plants in Germany should be informed.
b. Any company with at least two production plants in Germany should be informed.
The normal interpretation would ...
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Proper usage of "having given birth" in this sentence
Recently, I came across a question that asks whether a given sentence is correct. If not, we're required to select an option that corrects the error.
Question: Having given birth to six kittens, my ...
grammarnerd616
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Does "The man saw the woman who is bringing the telescope" mean the woman is bringing the telescope?
The man saw the woman who is bringing the telescope.
If "who" is with the woman, does this always mean the woman is being referred to, or it can also refer to the man, even though the "...
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views
The singer was accompanied by her sister on the piano?
The original sentence is: "The singer was accompanied on the piano by her sister.
But what if I say: "The singer was accompanied by her sister on the piano". Does it sound odd?
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What does this pronoun indicate in the below passage? "Nonsense and silliness"? or "kids"? or "adults"?
What does "they" indicate in the below passage? "Nonsense and silliness"? or "kids"? or "adults"?
By any chance, if "they" means "adults", ...
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Sentences containing "refused to close his bar because"
a. He refused to close his bar because of the pandemic.
b. He refused to close his bar because there was a pandemic.
Are the above sentences grammatically correct, and do they make sense?
The intended ...
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Is "A pointer is returned to an automatic variable" correct and unambiguous about what is "returned"?
I found this sentence in a book.
A pointer is returned to an automatic variable in a previous function call (discussed in the section “Pointers to Local Data” on page 66).
Based on the context, I ...
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modificational scope of "two years ago"
In the following sentence, does the "two years ago" describe the time of
buying or reading the book?
I bought the book which I had read two years ago and
which had the author's autograph.
...
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Who is pissed off here?
Jack walks up to the girl at the bar and starts flirting, but the girl just looks at him weirdly and walks away. Enjoying this, Ethan grins at Jack, pissing him off.
My question is about the last ...
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Possible ambiguity in "In addition to the 3 main reasons, there is a 4th reason that has not been widely cited"
I am wondering if my sentence is ambiguous.
In addition to the three main arguments, there is a fourth argument that, although important, has not been widely cited.
The "three main arguments" are ...
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the English led by general Smith
a. They were fighting the English led by general Smith.
b. They were fighting the English under the leadership of general Smith.
c. They were fighting the English**,** led by general Smith.
d. They ...
- 3,049
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"He looked at her with a hurt expression" - Who has the hurt expression?
There is a sentence like below.
He looked at her with a hurt expression.
I don't know whether he has a hurt expression or she (her) has a hurt expression.
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Can "Others may have a point of view..." be understood in two ways?
In a book, I found the following sentence:
Good fiction teaches us about ourselves and about our relationships
with other people; it shows us too that others may have a point of
view which is ...
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answers
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Meaning of "I will not kill you due to your talent"
What is the meaning of:
I will not kill you due to your talent.
Does that mean:
[I will not kill you] [due to your talent].
Because you are talented, I will not kill you.
[I will not] [kill you ...
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How to correct "With a growing tech sector in Vancouver and a highly transferable skill set, Maisie can easily find a job"?
With a growing tech sector in Vancouver and a highly transferable skill set, Maisie can reasonably expect to find a suitable job in her field. [The lady is a computer programmer: this is discussed ...
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Postmodifier Description
She has an interview next week for a teaching job in Paris.
Does “in Paris” describe “a teaching job” (The job is in Paris, not the interview.) or “an interview” (The interview is in Paris, not the ...
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Is the clause here ambiguous to the preceding sentence
The sentence in question is the following:
Using the discovered method, the researcher can quantify the virus effectively, which is unprecedented.
The question is: is the bold clause qualifying ...
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What is the meaning of "The shame of [something]"? [closed]
I didn't find the meaning of The shame of [something] in my search on the internet and that's why I can't conclude its meaning precisely. I want to use The shame of his book for some text in this ...
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Who is frowning in the sentence "Daisy looked at Tom frowning"?
I read this sentence from The Great Gatsby:
“Plenty of gas,” said Tom boisterously. He looked at the gauge. “And if it runs out I can stop at a drug-store. You can buy anything at a drug-store ...
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I saw a man in the room
I saw a man in the room.
I saw the man in the room.
1a. I saw a man who was in the room.
There were five people in the room, for example. I saw one man who was in the room. In this case, 'in the room'...
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How to interpret when there is two adjectives in front & end
Necessary Employees and Persons Authorized
Does it mean "(necessary employees) and (persons authorized)" or "necessary (employees and persons) who are authorized"?
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"the Book, the Qur'an, is without a doubt revealed from Allah." What is the meaning of this sentence?
The Book, the Qur'an, is without a doubt revealed from Allah.
It can be understood in two ways:
There's no doubt that Quran is from Allah.
Quran doesn't contain any doubt and is revealed from Allah.
...
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There was a farmer had a dog, but which one was named Bingo?
There was a farmer had a dog,
and Bingo was his name-o.
From these words alone (so, without appealing to different versions, translations, likelihoods of names, etc.), is there some way to decide ...
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location - returned from where?
Consider the following sentences. If John had come from Boston, was it the place Peter arrived at, or the place Peter came from?
Peter returned from where John had come.
Peter returned whence ...
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Who does 'who' refer to?
Tom plays basketball daily unlike Sam, who is a very busy man
Is the above sentence correct?
So 'who' always relates to 'Sam' or the nearest noun (& not Tom)?
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Fix ambiguity in "You're Not Obligated to Work Until You're 30"
The sentence in the title has two, almost contradicting interpretations. (1) that you are not obligated to do the task "work until you're 30", or (2) you are not obligated to do the task "work" until ...
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I watched them playing with my basketball
The sentence I want to talk about is:
"I watched them playing with my basketball"
Don't these kind of sentences have two meanings? Doesn't this sentence mean either
"I watched them while they ...
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To solve a complex problem, there is always a simple way which everyone can understand
The sentence is:
To solve a complex problem, there is always a simple way which everyone can understand.
Do you think that this sentence is grammatically OK?
Why I am asking it is because I would ...
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