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Soheil1 Posted 12 years ago
Vocabulary

Ambiguity (1)

Hi.
What does the following sentence mean:
'The computer understands you like your mother'

?Can't it have 3 different meanings?

Thanks in advance
  

Top answer

soheil1 Can't it have 3 different meanings? Which 3 do you imagine?

— Mister Micawber

  • soheil1 Can't it have 3 different meanings?
  • Which 3 do you imagine?
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6 Answers
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soheil1Can't it have 3 different meanings?
Which 3 do you imagine?
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1)It understands you as well as your mother.
2)It understands (that) you like your mother
3)It understands you, as your mother does
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Only #3 is a reasonable choice. That is how all native speakers would read it.
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soheil1Why is it?
Common sense.
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I first interpreted it as #3.
Only if the context suggested it would I understand it as #2, and it would be much better to include "that" to avoid ambiguity.
I don't think #1 works.
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