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Debpriya De Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Cleft sentences
"The coach wants Henry to rest."
When we say this, the meaning is clear.
But when we say "The one person our coach wants to rest is Henry", the meaning is ambiguous.
It can either mean that the coach wants to rest him or that the coach wants him to rest on his own.
Are both the interpretations valid ? How can we disambiguate the sentence ?
When we say this, the meaning is clear.
But when we say "The one person our coach wants to rest is Henry", the meaning is ambiguous.
It can either mean that the coach wants to rest him or that the coach wants him to rest on his own.
Are both the interpretations valid ? How can we disambiguate the sentence ?
Top answer
" The one person our coach wants to take a rest is Henry. The one person our coach wants to give a rest to is Henry. Are both the interpretations valid ?
- " The one person our coach wants to take a rest is Henry.
- The one person our coach wants to give a rest to is Henry.
- Are both the interpretations valid ?
- Yes.
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3 Answers
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"The one person our coach wants to rest is Henry."
The one person our coach wants to take a rest is Henry.
The one person our coach wants to give a rest to is Henry.
Are both the interpretations valid ? Yes.
The one person our coach wants to take a rest is Henry.
The one person our coach wants to give a rest to is Henry.
Are both the interpretations valid ? Yes.
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To disambiguate: "Of all team members, the coach most wants Henry to take time to rest."
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Jeff CowellTo disambiguate: "Of all team members, the coach most wants Henry to take time to rest."What about the alternate interpretation?
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