What does "alone" modify?
She was calling Bob alone.
Without further context, I think this sentence could mean either 1 or 2 as below.
1. She alone was calling Bob. (=No one but only she was calling Bob)
(If "alone" is modifying "She")
2. She was calling Bob, who was alone. (=Bob was alone when she was calling him)
(If "alone" is modifying "Bob")
What do you think? Do you think I'm right?
Top answer
Yes, it's potentially ambiguous. She was calling Bob, alone . Here, although "alone" does refer to "she", it is not modifying it, but is part of the underlined verb phrase, and hence is called a predicative adjunct.
- Yes, it's potentially ambiguous.
- She was calling Bob, alone .
- Here, although "alone" does refer to "she", it is not modifying it, but is part of the underlined verb phrase, and hence is called a predicative adjunct.
- e.
- "she" and it's an adjunct because it is a modifier in clause structure, not noun phrase structure.
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Yes, it's potentially ambiguous.
She was calling Bob, alone.
Here, although "alone" does refer to "she", it is not modifying it, but is part of the underlined verb phrase, and hence is called a predicative adjunct. It's predicative because it refers to a predicand, i.e. "she" and it's an adjunct because it is a modifier in clause structure, not noun phrase structure.
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