ambiguous or not?

Question

Hi,"Newspapers grew out of coffee houses, which were very popular."Is this sentence ambiguous in meaning?(My question can be rephrased as; "which" in this sentence referes to newspaper or coffe houses?) Thanks.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

handtalkIs this sentence ambiguous in meaning?

Not to me.

handtalk "which" in this sentence referes to newspaper or coffe houses?

coffee houses.

With a pronoun, look first to the nearest preceding noun and activate your common sense and knowledge of the world at the same time.

Handtalk · Answer

Thank you for your reply.

So, your judgement comes from the combination of sentence structure and common sense, but not solely on the basis of gramatical rules. Am I correct?

How about the sentence below?

"Newspapers grew out of coffee houses, which were very numerous at that time that some were specialized in a certian topic."

Does "which" still refere to coffee houses, or this time umbiguous?
(My example might not be good. But, is it possible to create a sentence with the same structure but the "which" can refere to the subject of the sentence?)

Thank you in advance.

Mister Micawber · Answer

handtalk your judgement comes from the combination of sentence structure and common sense, but not solely on the basis of gramatical rules. Am I correct?

In this case, the rule is sufficient. If the rule doesn't seem to you to lead to a reasonable answer, consult your common sense.

handtalkHow about the sentence below?"Newspapers grew out of coffee houses, which were very numerous at that time that some were specialized in a certian topic."

That sentence is badly structured, so we cannot consider it. I suppose this is what you were aiming for:

Newspapers grew out of coffee houses, which were very numerous at that time and specialized in certain topics.

handtalkDoes "which" still refere to coffee houses, or this time umbiguous?

Now it is both ambiguous and poorly structured (thus aching for revision) because the dependent clause is misplaced:

Newspapers, which were very numerous at that time and specialized in certain topics, grew out of coffee houses.

handtalkBut, is it possible to create a sentence with the same structure but the "which" can refer to the subject of the sentence?

I think it is possible but rare; we certainly get a lot of potentials shown us by posters asking the same question you have, but it is usually a matter of improper structuring.

Handtalk · Answer

Thank you very much, Mister Micawber.
I think I understand it now.

ambiguous or not?

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