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Thfihe Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
The robber had left the bank when the police arrived at 4 p.m.
Hello.
I have a question about the following sentence.
The robber had left the bank when the police arrived at 4 p.m.
Is the sentence ambiguous? Does it have the two possible interpretations (a) and (b)?
(a) The robber left before the police arrived at 4 p.m. (leaving?arrival)
(b) The robber left at the time police arrived at 4 p.m. (leaving=arrival)
Thank you in advance.
I have a question about the following sentence.
The robber had left the bank when the police arrived at 4 p.m.
Is the sentence ambiguous? Does it have the two possible interpretations (a) and (b)?
(a) The robber left before the police arrived at 4 p.m. (leaving?arrival)
(b) The robber left at the time police arrived at 4 p.m. (leaving=arrival)
Thank you in advance.
Top answer
The robber was long gone prior to the arrival of the police.
- The robber was long gone prior to the arrival of the police.
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3 Answers
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thfiheIs the sentence ambiguous? The robber had left the bank when the police arrived at 4 p.m.No. Not that I see. It's what you paraphrased as (a).
For the meaning in (b), leave out "had": The robber left the bank when the police arrived at 4 p.m.
CJ
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UserTKThe robber was long gone prior to the arrival of the police.He could have left only a minute before. The sentence gives us no idea of the length of time between the departure of the robber and the arrival of the police.
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