The cat ate the mouse with a fork.
IS IT...
The cat used a fork to eat the mouse. (The cat had the fork)
OR IS IT...
The cat ate the mouse that had a fork in its possesion. (The mouse had the fork)
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The cat used a fork to eat the mouse. (The cat had the fork) OR IS IT... The cat ate the mouse that had a fork in its possesion. (The mouse had the fork)
2 comments:
Viewed from a slightly different angle (semantics), the ambiguity here has to do with whether "with the fork" is an instrument or a descriptor of the mouse, making it hinge on the ambiguity of the word 'with'.
The English preposition system seems to have quite a few words that are doing such double-duty.
Nicely stated James. This is also why the semantic ambiguity can be illustrated syntactically. The fork is an instrument when the PP attaches to the VP and it is a descriptor of the mouse when the PP attaches to the NP.
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