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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

Position of Adverbials

0Hello 02br
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00I have a question about the interpretation of the sentence below. 02br
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01i00"He told me to leave at 6:00 PM Tuesday"02i02br
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00How do you take this sentence? Which one is it saying, (1) or (2)? 02br
00(1)01font00 He told me at 6:00 PM Tuesday that I should leave. 02font02br
00(2) 01font00He told me that I should leave at 6:00 PM Tuesday.02font02br
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00If both interpretations are possible, which one is more normal?02br
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00Thank you in advance. 0-
  

Top answer

0Hi. 02i 00 01u 00This02u 00 one is ambiguous, especially if you were to say, 01i 00He 01u 00told02u 00 me to leave last night02i 00. ) Perhaps what makes the difference in your original is the amount of detail in the departure time.

— Avangi

  • 0Hi.
  • 02i 00 01u 00This02u 00 one is ambiguous, especially if you were to say, 01i 00He 01u 00told02u 00 me to leave last night02i 00.
  • ) Perhaps what makes the difference in your original is the amount of detail in the departure time.
  • 0-
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3 Answers
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0Hi. I very much doubt a native speaker would take it to mean, "He told me Tuesday to leave." It's really pretty straightforward, and in this particular sentence there's no possible justification for stating it in your original configuration, when example (1) is intended.02br
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01i00Last night he said I should leave02i00.02br
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01
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0Language is notorious for underspecifying reality. Ambiguity is commonplace and should not be considered cause for either wonder or alarm.02br
00Is it easier to understand why someone would tell you exactly when an utterance was made, down to the exact time, as if in a court of law?02br
00Or is it easier to understand why someone would specify the time of an impend
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0He told me to leave 01b01u00at 6:00 PM Tuesday02u00.02b00 (adverbial prep. phrase; tells when "to leave" 02br
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01u01b00At 6:00 PM Tuesday02b02u00, he told me to leave. (adverbial prep phrase; tells when he "told")0-
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