Can this sentence be interpreted in two meanings?

Question

Hi. I am reading a syntax book now. But, I have onething to be confused. The book says the sentence "John wrote a book about Nixon". can have two meanings. That is the prepositional phrase "about Nixon" can modify both "the boo" and "wrote".
But, I CAN NOT catch this. Could you help me?

Thanks.

Clive · Accepted Answer

The phrase describes the book.
Q - What kind of book?
A - A book about Nixon.

Deadrat · Answer

Because the prepositional phrase "about Nixon" immediately follows "book," the only possibility is that it is an adjectival phrase that modifies "book." Of all the things the book could be about, this tells us that it's subject is Nixon.

What is possible is that in a similar sentence the phrase "about Nixon" could be used adverbially to modify the verb. Thus:

Joan wrote about Nixon in her book The Worst Presidents of the United States.

Now, "about Nixon" is an adverbial prepositional phrase describing the writing. The semantics are different, too. In John's book I wouldn't expect to see a chapter about George W. Bush. That's because John's book is restricted to Nixon because it is modified by "about Nixon." (Nixon was in a different political generation from Bush, so a book about Nixon would have nothing to say about Bush.) Joan's book is different because although we know Nixon appears in it because there's writing about him per the phrase "about Nixon," her book isn't limited to Nixon.

Junhak Lee · Answer

I don't know how to express my acknowledgement.

Can this sentence be interpreted in two meanings?

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Joan wrote

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