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Question

The room overlooks her spacious backyard, left, on the banks of the Upper Artichoke Reservoir.What does 'left' mean in the sentence? left of the reservoir? or left of the backyard? or else?

OrlandoEnglishTutor · Accepted Answer

Is it a caption? It sounds as if there is a photo of the backyard appearing to the left of this caption or whatever the text is from. That would be my first thought; let me know if there is no photo to the left.
--Sandy

Avangi · Answer

I'd say the left portion of the backyard. I don't think it's a very useful or common expression. We don't know what sort of a dwelling this is. Let's assume it's a large single-family dwelling. If the yard is described as spacious, it's probably at least as wide as the house. Her room may be a corner room, directly overlooking the left-hand portion of the yard as she faces out.
Anyone who has performed on the stage can attest to how confusing the directions stage left and stage right can be for the uninitiated. Is it the audience's left or the actor's left?

You could also argue that as she looks out her window, she must look to her left to see the spacious yard. But then that would be a misuse of the verb "overlooks," which typically indicates the view is seen by looking straight out the window. (Her window overlooks the bay)

Edit. O.E.T.'s suggestion sounds very likely.

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