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Fire1 Posted 7 years ago
Grammar

Without any context, does this sentence sound ambiguous?

Your husband died to be a sacrifice for the demons.

https://books.google.co.kr/books?id=ftUVqiwrT88C&pg=PA122&dq=Your+husband+died+to+be+a+sacrifice+for+the+demons&hl=ko&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Your%20husband%20died%20to%20be%20a%20sacrifice%20for%20the%20demons&f=false

Without any context, does this sentence sound ambiguous?
I mean it can read as "Your husband died in order to be a sacrifice for the demons" or "Your husband died and ended up a sacrifice for the demons".
Am I right?

  

Top answer

To me, the wording of that sentence feels slightly unsatisfactory. Logically, the death is the sacrifice; you can't really die "in order to" be a sacrifice. Unless there are some special complications in this particular instance, I understand the intended meaning to be something like "Your husband's death was a sacrifice to the demons".

  • To me, the wording of that sentence feels slightly unsatisfactory.
  • Logically, the death is the sacrifice; you can't really die "in order to" be a sacrifice.
  • Unless there are some special complications in this particular instance, I understand the intended meaning to be something like "Your husband's death was a sacrifice to the demons".
  • Opinions may vary.
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1 Answers
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To me, the wording of that sentence feels slightly unsatisfactory. Logically, the death is the sacrifice; you can't really die "in order to" be a sacrifice. Unless there are some special complications in this particular instance, I understand the intended meaning to be something like "Your husband's death was a sacrifice to the demons". Opinions may vary.

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