Ambiguity?

Question

Is there an ambiguity in these sentences?

"Ambiguity" is normally considered uncountable there, no "an". And, no.

1) I wanted to go to a nearby college so I can move back home to live.Ambiguous because it either means move back home every day (not live in a dorm), or move back home on holidays.

To move is

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Is there an ambiguity in these sentences?

"Ambiguity" is normally considered uncountable there, no "an". And, no.

1) I wanted to go to a nearby college so I can move back home to live.Ambiguous because it either means move back home every day (not live in a dorm), or move back home on holidays.

To move is to permanently change your place of residence. When you say "move back home to live", it means that there is a place you call home where you are not living now, probably where you grew up with your parents, and you will go back there to live while you go to college. There is no ambiguity.

Does it change if you omit "to live"?

No.

2) The shirt is a good size and style for you. As for the color, it is ugly.Ambiguous because the end either means the color is ugly for that person, or for every person.

The color is absolutely ugly. There is no ambiguity.

Anonymous · Answer

1) I wanted to go to a nearby college so I can move back home to live.
Ambiguous because it either means move back home every day (not live in a dorm), or move back home on holidays.
My personal take of these two sentences is that they are not written by someone who has not mastered the natural English fluency. At the end part, "move back" suggests he was already away from home. But at the beginning, "wanted to go to a near by.....". If my interpretpation is correct, the sentence should read " I want to (transfer to)/(find) a college close to home so that I can live (with my parents)/(home). "To live" contains the meaning of sleeping, eating, taking a shower and etc, it does not have to express whether or not, he comes home every night. If there was any ambiguity, it was created in the wording of the author.
Does it change if you omit "to live"? No.
2) The shirt is a good size and style for you. As for the color, it is ugly.
Ambiguous because the end either means the color is ugly for that person, or for every person.
The grammar is fine. Again, the tone is not naturally idiomatic. How someone feels about a particular color is purely subjective. In natural conversation, it may sound like something like this (assuming the person is trying on a new shirt in a department store) " The shirt is a perfect fit but the color is questionable". Having said that, as written, it has no ambiguity issue.
Is there an ambiguity in these sentences?

Ambiguity?

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