0
Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
A question about "Structural Ambiguity"
Hello everybody,
While i was solving a test, i found a qustion which is about structural ambiguity. This is:
Which of the following sentences contains a structural ambiguity?
A- John told the woman not to tell a lie
B- John told Bill that he was telling a lie.
C- John told the woman that Bill told a lie.
D- John told the woman that Bill was dating a lie
E- John told Bill not to tell a lie.
I marked B but answer sheet says it's D. What do you think?
Thank you
While i was solving a test, i found a qustion which is about structural ambiguity. This is:
Which of the following sentences contains a structural ambiguity?
A- John told the woman not to tell a lie
B- John told Bill that he was telling a lie.
C- John told the woman that Bill told a lie.
D- John told the woman that Bill was dating a lie
E- John told Bill not to tell a lie.
I marked B but answer sheet says it's D. What do you think?
Thank you
Top answer
Anonymous D- John told the woman that Bill was dating a lie You can't 'date' a lie. So, that sentence is not possible, but I wouldn't call the mistake a 'structural ambiguity'.
- Anonymous D- John told the woman that Bill was dating a lie You can't 'date' a lie.
- So, that sentence is not possible, but I wouldn't call the mistake a 'structural ambiguity'.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
3 Answers
0
AnonymousD- John told the woman that Bill was dating a lieYou can't 'date' a lie. So, that sentence is not possible, but I wouldn't call the mistake a 'structural ambiguity'.
00
Isn't the choice B because "he" could refer to either John or Bill ?
00
Related Questions