Ambiguous sentences

Question

Dear teachers,I found in a handout 2 interpretations of the same sentence but I do not agree with one. Am I wrong?"Sara wrote a letter to her mother.(Deep structure, means Sara is away and she wrote a letter to her mother telling her about herself)Sara wrote a letter to her mother.(Deep structure, means Sara’s mother is illiterate, she cannot write so her daughter, Sara, wrote a letter to her to send it to someone else)"In my opinion, to get the second meaning shouldn't we use the preposition "FOR" instead of "TO"? Thank you for your help.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Hela"Sara wrote a letter to her mother.(Deep structure, means Sara is away and she wrote a letter to her mother telling her about herself)

Sara wrote a letter to her mother.

It does not indicate the content of the letter or Sara's location. It only says that she wrote a letter. Sara could have been sitting at the kitchen table with her mother. She could have written anything.

HelaSara wrote a letter to her mother.(Deep structure, means Sara’s mother is illiterate, she cannot write so her daughter, Sara, wrote a letter to her to send it to someone else)"

There is no difference in your sentences. They both say the same thing.

Sara wrote a letter for her mother.
This can mean two different things. That she wrote the letter on behalf of her mother (to someone unmentioned) or she wrote a letter that she would give to her mother.

Without any context, I would assume that she wrote on behalf of her mother. It does not mean that her mother was illiterate. It has no hint of why she wrote the letter.

CalifJim · Answer

HelaI found in a handout 2 interpretations of the same sentence but I do not agree with one.

I do not agree either. That second interpretation is quite bizarre, I'd say.

HelaIn my opinion, to get the second meaning shouldn't we use the preposition "FOR" instead of "TO"?

Absolutely!

CJ

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