Structural Ambiguity Syntax (English)

These sentences have two meanings. Can anyone help me find them? (It's quite difficult, I know)

1. The design has big squares and circles.
2. The governer is a dirty street fighter.
3. I cannot recommend him too highly.
4. They said she would go yesterday.
5. No smoking section avaliable.

Thanks.

Reply 1

lostinfantasies

I'm supposed to be doing English and my interpretation of #1 seems a bit...basic, but here goes

1. The design actually has big squares & big circles, or the design has big squares and then circles of an undetermined size

*shrugs* Not sure if that's what you meant :smile:

Reply 2

Socrates

4. They said, she would go yesterday/ They, said she, would go yesterday.
5. No smoking section available/No smoking section: available.

cant think of the others.

Reply 3

Fahad

Wow, that's smart :P Thanks guys..

Anyone can figure out the other two?

Reply 4

Socrates

3. I cannot recommend him too highly

depends where u put the emphasis. Either he is so good that you cannot recommend him higher, or you cannot recommend him highly. Hard to write it, but depends where you put the emphasis when you say it.

Reply 5

Madelyn

zaf1986

4. They said, she would go yesterday/ They, said she, would go yesterday.QUOTE]
I thought that one was that either they had said yesterday that she would go, or that she would go yesterday, they said
As for no. 2, the governor either fights dirtily in streets, or fights in dirty streets.

This is good practice if anyone has a Classics interview at Corpus Christi, Oxford - when I was talking to the philosophy/logic tutor, he got me to do a load of these.

Reply 6

silence

some not mentioned...

1. The design has big squares and circles (around an object, i.e. the design has its own orbit)
2. The governer is dirty and fights the streets.... The governer is dirty and is a street fighter... The governer fights dirty streets...
3. I cannot recommend him in such a high manner.... I too cannot recommend him highly (?)
4. Yesterday, they said she would go...

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