0
Navitasan Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
Called my sister in Germany
1) I called my sister in Germany.
2) I called my sister, in Germany
In which of the following cases correspond to which of the sentences 1 and 2:
a) I called her and she was in Germany when I called her.
b) I called her and I was in Germany when I called her.
c) I called that sister of mine who is in Germany.
d) I called my only sister, who is in Germany.
Gratefully,
Navi.
2) I called my sister, in Germany
In which of the following cases correspond to which of the sentences 1 and 2:
a) I called her and she was in Germany when I called her.
b) I called her and I was in Germany when I called her.
c) I called that sister of mine who is in Germany.
d) I called my only sister, who is in Germany.
Gratefully,
Navi.
Top answer
You are being fastidious and fretful over ambiguities in language that simply cannot be solved with punctuation. The proper sentence has no comma. I called my sister in Germany.
- You are being fastidious and fretful over ambiguities in language that simply cannot be solved with punctuation.
- The proper sentence has no comma.
- I called my sister in Germany.
- Now either you were in Germany or she was in Germany or both of you were in Germany.
- Nothing, but nothing , can change the fact that the sentence doesn't say which of these three is truly the case; and no number of commas can make it say so.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
1 Answers
0
You are being fastidious and fretful over ambiguities in language that simply cannot be solved with punctuation. The proper sentence has no comma. I called my sister in Germany. Now either you were in Germany or she was in Germany or both of you were in Germany. Nothing, but nothing, can change the fact that the sentence doesn't say which of these three is truly the case; and no
0
Related Questions